


Crossed Wands

by Heichous_Poncho



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Crossover, Denial of Feelings, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eren has ADHD, Eren is in denial FOR A RIDICULOUSLY LONG TIME LIKE COME ON, Fluff and Humor, Genderfluid Hange Zoë, Good Slytherins, Gryffindor Eren Yeager, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Rivalry, Gryffindor/Slytherin Inter-House Relationships, High School Student Eren Yeager, High School Student Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Hogwarts, Hogwarts Seventh Year, Mikasa and Eren are not related, Minor Annie Leonhart/Eren Yeager, Minor Furlan Church/Isabel Magnolia, Multi, Mutual Pining, Pansexual Eren Yeager, Past Jean Kirstein/Eren Yeager, Past Mikasa Ackerman/Eren Yeager - Freeform, Past Relationship(s), Pining, Pining Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Popular Eren Yeager, Popular Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Pranks and Practical Jokes, Quidditch, Quidditch Player Eren Yeager, Quidditch Player Levi Ackerman, Seekers, Slytherin Levi Ackerman, Slytherins Being Slytherins, Tutoring, if you don't like pansexual Eren don't fucking read this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-16
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2018-05-21 10:09:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 38,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6047668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heichous_Poncho/pseuds/Heichous_Poncho
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was supposed to be Eren Jaeger's finally normal, seventh year at Hogwarts. He would somehow manage not to fail his classes, pass his N.E.W.T.S, and catch the snitch for Gryffindor's House Cup win. But the moment he steps foot into the castle, his hopes are dashed with the arrival of a new Durmstang transfer student named Levi with dark black hair, hard steel blue eyes, an attitude not much better than an annoyed hippogriff, and naturally, of course, he's now one of the best seekers in the school. As if that wasn't enough of a distraction, he just has to be in nearly all of his classes getting perfect grades. To be blunt, he is seriously pissing Eren off. But just brilliantly, when Eren's place on the Gryffindor Quidditch team is threatened by his poor classroom performance, Levi might be the only one capable of tutoring him. That is, of course, if Eren lets him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this little one has been cooking on the back oven for about a year really but I haven't gotten to it until now!!!! I really hope you all like it, please stick through with me; I promise it'll be good! Updates will be sporadic. 
> 
> Thanks to my senpais, ATL and littleanimenerd, for helping me put this together!!! Also mega thanks to white_silence for betaing this monster!!!
> 
> Okay, my bit's been said so enjoy reading!!

 

In a small meadow in a rural forest, the large Jaeger household lay quiet on the morning of September 21. The windows of the downstairs sitting room were open, letting in the mirthful chirps of outside birds singing their songs. A small breeze blew and rustled the sheer curtains that hung. With a soft breeze, the clouds gave way to the sun's persistent golden rays; they bathed the entirety of the sitting room in shining gold.  

Up the stairs of the home, there were five oak doors. Past one, the sound of contrasting snores filled the room. Past another, a shrill cry pierced the serene air and was quickly followed by louder continuous thuds. The snores in the other room abruptly ceased and the door opened. Carla Jaeger slowly walked out of her bedroom in a bright red nightgown, clutching her wand. She moved towards the door across the hall, sleep clinging to her features. Pushing the dark oak open, she sighed in thinly veiled exasperation.

"Eren, how many times have I told you not to perform spells in your sleep?" She glanced at the floor and grimaced. "Look! You've gotten the floor all scrapped up!"

Her wide-eyed son rubbed his eyes and muttered to himself, "What a fall." He then ruffled his wildly untamed brown hair and sighed. "Where in blazes is my wand?"

"Eren!"

"Eh?" The boy finally looked up and acknowledged his tired mother standing in the doorway. "Oh, morning, mum!"

"Eren, you need to stop saying spells in your sleep," Carla repeated, used to her son's inattentive habits.

"But I didn't say anything mum, honest! I can't even remember where I put my wand, so I must not have used it."

"Eren..." His mother groaned. She held out her wand, 14 inches of ash wood, and recited a simple incantation. " _Accio_ Eren’s wand!" Immediately, Eren's slightly smaller black cypress wand flew into the palm of her outstretched hand from the depths of his messy room.

"Ah, thanks, Mum!"

"Eren, listen to me. According to wizard law, you’re an adult now. You need to learn to control your magic energy-"

"I do!" Eren interrupted while yawning. "I wear the gloves all day long, every single day. Unless I'm playing Quidditch. Then I have to take them off for my other gloves. Speaking of which, where did I put them? I need them for this year’s season," Eren derailed. He glanced hurriedly at his nightstand and desk in the far corner of his room.

"I already packed them for you. Everything you need is downstairs and waiting," Carla reassured before her son could begin to work himself up.

"Okay. Where's Snowball?"

"I don't know, probably hunting the field mice," Carla replied nonchalantly. Eren nodded to show he heard before his gaze landed on a purple spot on his comforter. Somewhere in the depths of his mind, he realized his mother began to speak again but he paid no attention to it, too absorbed by the stain. Curious, he began to pick at it. It didn't flake off; instead, it seemed to spread at his touch, mucking the beautiful handmade quilt from his grandmother. Eren chirped in annoyance and eyed the spot with distaste. It went against the entire color scheme of his bedroom of green, blue, and hints of orange.

Maybe he could change the color. If the spot was blue, it wouldn't upset the flow of colors on the quit too drastically. He knew that incantation well; it was how he passed off his dirty laundry as clean. Now he'd just need his wand...which was conveniently located in his mother's clenched fist. "Mum, can I have my wand back?"

"Listen to me first; come on, Eren you need to try a little harder in the mornings. People don't want to have to keep repeating themselves," Carla lightly scolded. "I had said for you to change, and get ready for the trip; we are leaving in 40 minutes." Having said her bit, Carla tossed Eren's wand onto his bed and left his room, but not before twirling her own to close the door behind her. Eren hastily snatched up his wand and clambered out from his mess of sheets, pillows, and quilt. Once he managed to stand, the brunet waved his wand and watched his bed remake itself. It was times like these that he appreciated being able to perform magic outside of school.

While one morning chore checked itself off his list, Eren walked over to his dresser across from the bed. The polish coating dark ash wood gleamed as sunlight trickled its way into his room, revealing all the forgotten hand-shaped scorch marks from years prior. Eren ran his fingers over the mark carefully with a slight smile as he yawned, remembering his youth, filled with unpredictability and excitement. All of it traced back to his first year; his eleven-year-old-self was as rambunctious as a king but still riotous like a dragon, and bursting with unwavering loyalty. His unusual nature distanced himself from most and labeled him a nuisance, but he met his best friends that helped him along the way: Mikasa and Armin. And speaking of which... 

Eren cursed and glanced at the clock on his wall, its rigid and orderly ticking the exact opposite of how he always felt. The time read ten minutes less than previously, and he swore again. Eren grabbed his towel and darted out through the hall into the bathroom. He unceremoniously tossed the towel onto the closed toilet seat then paused to take a deep breath before he approached the shower. With a sharp pull on the lever, he turned on the water and let it heat up while he stripped. The brunet stepped under the stream and let the warm water divest his tan skin of the thin layers of dirt and grime. As he scrubbed viciously and swiftly, Eren's mind wandered again. He was excited to see Armin and Mikasa; a few flimsy parchment letters could only provide so much after all. He was most excited to see Armin though since he had not virtually spoken to him since the previous year. He had taken on a type of muggle apprenticeship for the summer holiday at a bank and had hardly written once! Eren smirked as he shook hair out of his eyes and fumbled for the handle. He wouldn't let Armin talk his way out of this situation. No, the cunning little shroom would pay. Finally managing to grasp the lever, Eren pulled down and cringed at the shrill shriek of protest as the water slowed to a steady drip.

The young wizard haphazardly brushed his teeth and slipped on a black diamond patterned, green T-shirt, black skinny jeans, and his favorite blue vans. He slid his slender hands into simple black leather muggle gloves and stretched his long fingers twice fairly quickly. Without so much as a glance to his childhood room, Eren seized his wand from the burnt dresser and ran down the stairs. He paused a moment in all his haste to simply look at the sitting room. The walls glimmered with sparkles as the sunlight hit them and bursts of turquoise, various hues of brown, and a faint tint of green decorated the air from accented furniture. The curtains blew just enough to plant an idea of rippling waves on a beach in Eren's mind.

This type of magic was his favorite: the magic of nature. 

"Eren, if you don't hurry up, you'll miss breakfast," Carla called from the kitchen. The mention of food jarred the brunet from his musings, and he sped off to the kitchen. Sure enough, Carla had prepared him a large plate of his favorite dish: scrambled eggs with pumpkin juice and pancakes.

"Ah, Mum, you did it again," Eren sighed happily as he regarded his food. "Are the other ones packed too?" 

"Yes! They should be in the backseat with Snowball's carrier." Eren hummed in pleasant surprise and drummed his fingers on the table rhythmically. "So," Carla prompted as she noted her son's nervous behavior. "Are you going to eat it?" 

"I was actually going to eat it with them..." 

Carla smiled gently and rolled her eyes. "Go help your father load the car while I pack it up then." Eren ceased his drumming and bolted for the door, displacing papers and curtains as he darted through it, a shout of thanks dancing off his lips.

Outside, Eren watched his father load his large suitcase into the tiny trunk of their family car. "Is that an enlargement charm?" he asked, whipping his wand out with an eagerness to help.

"Indeed; I swear with the rate that you lose things, you'd think we'd have less to pack,” he grunted as he shoved several parcels around. “Anyway, why aren't you eating breakfast?"

"Mum is packing it for me so I can eat with Mikasa and Armin on the train. Can I help?"

Grisha hummed in understanding and shrugged. "Pass me your Quidditch bag and broom, would you?" Eren nodded and grabbed the bag first. He tossed it to his father albeit with an air of recklessness then turned to his broom. This he handled with the same amount of care one might hold a newborn baby. Then again, it was like his baby. This broom was the best he ever had. The ebony wooden design was still sleek, sporting a long handle that led to an unkempt, bristled, bunch of birch twigs. The old Firebolt was the only broom that could speed around the pitch and tolerate his increased magic energy at the same time. Eren gingerly placed the broom into his father’s hand and held his breath. 

“Merlin’s beard, Eren, this was my broom too once. I know exactly how unique it is; I’m not going to break it,” Grisha chuckled at Eren’s wide eyes and bit lip. 

“Yeah, well…caution’s not a bad thing,” Eren murmured to himself as he began to absentmindedly tap his fingers against his thigh. Once his broom was loaded, Grisha slammed the trunk closed and jogged back to the house to call his wife. Eren diverted his attention to the yard. The trees and their crisp green foliage blew against a slight late-summer breeze. A bird flew above him, singing like it was its last day, and down the long stretch of country road. Eren loved his forest home, and there was only one other place that could possibly rival its beauty and spirit, a place he'd be in a few hours. He smiled to himself at the thought and threw himself into the broken leather, back-row seat. Just as he buckled his seatbelt, Eren's parents slid into the car. Grisha crammed the key into the ignition, and with a quiet purr, they drove off towards London.

~*~*~*~*~

Eren drummed his gloved fingers in quick succession against his small trolley cart as he made his way alone to Platform 9¾. Or at least, _tried_ to make his way, for some reason it seemed that every person had decided to move the pace of a snail. 

“Dad was right,” he muttered, clearly frustrated. “All these muggles moving a kilometer per hour. I can’t wait here until they decide to get off their arses. The train leaves in,” he paused and raised his left arm to read the time. “Shite! It’s already 15 till 11!” 

“Excuse me!” he suddenly bellowed, gaining several surprised looks. “Some people have places to be so if you’d all move!” Surprised looks quickly turned incredulous as Eren finished yelling and shoved his way through the crowd. Without looking back at the upset muggles, he swore again and ran down the station. “Platform 6…7…8…here it is!” The young wizard glanced around the pathway first, watching for observant muggles. There was an overweight, scruffy looking, bearded man lying on a bench with his eyes closed, and a mother tugging around her screaming ankle-biter, but neither one seemed to be paying particularly close attention to anything else. Taking the risk, Eren briskly walked towards the center of the arch dividing Platform 9 and 10. As the solid brick wall grew closer and closer, Eren felt the familiar feeling of nervous excitement flutter about in his stomach. Despite having crossed this barrier twelve times to the incredible sight before, he couldn’t help but grin in amazement as he stared at the beautiful Hogwarts Express. 

Its gleaming black smokebox bore dark red capital letters naming the train and leading six long, burgundy cars. Smoke gushed from the top in billowing clouds of white as it prepared to depart. “Last call for students to board!” a conductor yelled. Eren jolted forward at the call and hurriedly pushed his cart towards the loaders carefully placing several suitcases in line in the luggage car. “I’m here! I’m here!” he shouted. The workers glanced up and smirked. 

“Late again, Eren?” one with short ashen hair asked as a grin stretched across his face.

“I wasn’t that late, Samuel,” Eren retorted. “Be careful with the broomstick,” he added as the other male started to unload his cart of luggage. 

“Always am, little sprog,” Samuel snickered. “You’d better take your cat and give your ticket before the doors close.” Eren rolled his eyes but heeded his friend’s advice. He gently picked up Snowball’s carrier and slung a bag with his robes inside over his shoulder before he darted off, weaving his way quickly between the groups of communing families. He clutched the handle tightly as he brushed shoulders with other wizards and witches and rushed to the fourth car’s conductor.

“I have my ticket!” he shouted a little too loud. The conductor merely smiled and outstretched his hand to accept the small piece of paper. With his empty hand, Eren dug into his coat pocket. Sure enough, albeit a bit crumpled, his gloves caught onto the thin ticket and pulled it out.  “Sorry it’s so messed up,” the brunet laughed nervously.

“Don’t worry about it, just board,” the conductor replied. Eren smiled and hurriedly climbed on. The moment he stepped foot in the car, he let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Inside, the car was filled with small red compartments, each already occupied with friends just itching to leave London in favor of Hogwarts. The white noise of chatter was loud in Eren’s ears but he welcomed the sharp difference from his quiet countryside home with open arms. Bright turquoise eyes glanced up at the shining, golden compartment numbers as he looked for his own number. “ _101…102…103…_ Here,” Eren said with a smirk dancing on his lips. “ _104_.” He stood outside the door for a moment, opting to look through the glass until his two best friends noticed him. 

Armin was already nose deep in another book while Mikasa was playing with her black cat absentmindedly. He pounced on her pale fingers as she struggled to place a new collar on his neck. Eren couldn’t help but let out a laugh the annoyance clearly painting her face. It wasn’t a look Mikasa wore often, but it was definitely one that he enjoyed seeing. Suddenly, she glanced up at Armin and asked him something. The golden blond looked up but shook his head to her apparent question. They both furrowed their brow for a moment before a smile broke across their faces and glanced at the door. Mikasa was up first and pulling Eren into a tight hug before the brunet could even process the action.

 “Eren!” Mikasa sighed contently as she gripped him. Eren blinked twice as he slowly registered Mikasa’s hug then wrapped his arms around her as well.

“Hey, ‘Kasa,” he replied casually. He glanced at Armin from over Mikasa’s black hair and rolled his eyes playfully. Armin merely grinned and let out a chuckle. “Alright, let me breathe, clingy woman,” Eren teased gently and drummed his fingers against her back quickly; he felt a little too restrained in her grasp and began to fidget. Thankfully, Mikasa sensed his discomfort and peeled herself off of him. 

“It’s so good to see you again. Those letters barely did anything,” she spoke while retreating to her seat and moving her own cat’s carrier for Eren to place Snowball’s down. Eren stepped into the compartment with a lazy grin and placed Snowball along with his shoulder bag down in the space Mikasa cleared away. With a loud, easy sigh, he plopped down next to Armin and stretched his legs out. 

“You’re right about that,” he added casually. “A catching up is long overdue. Especially from _this_ guy.” Eren jabbed at Armin’s side with a finger and laughed as he yelped. 

“Hey! What was that for?” Armin protested. “I’ve done nothing wrong.”

 “’I’ve done nothing wrong’ he says!” Eren mocked. “You haven’t written me a letter once this summer because of that muggle thing, so we need to catch up.”

“Oh, yeah,” Armin muttered. “Sorry about that. But, um, I’m pretty good.”

 “We need details, you tosser,” Mikasa joked. “How’s your grandfather doing?”

 “Oh, you know what, Mikasa,” Armin lightly threatened. “No, but he’s good. He was the one who told me about the internship. He thinks I should get involved in the muggle world more than the wizarding world, mainly because there aren't any large wizarding communities in America that we could locate. A lot of them move to England to work in the Ministry. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to test muggle waters and see what it’s like.”

 “That’s interesting,” she replied coolly. “My parents have been pretty good. They still don’t want me to pursue professional Quidditch, but-“

 “Sweet, we’re finally leaving,” Eren blurted out while he stared at the passing parents. “I can’t wait to be back.” He looked at his friends for their response, but they simply stared at him with raised eyebrows. “Dammit, I interrupted someone, didn’t I?”

“Me,” Mikasa answered patiently. “It’s okay; let’s talk about you. How have you been, Eren?”

 “Eh, so-so, I guess,” he responded honestly. “The ADHD and magic energy have been a little worse than usual, but I’m sure it’ll regress once I’m back at Hogwarts.”

 “Is that why you’re wearing the gloves? Usually, you only wear them when you have your bad days,” Armin piped in.

 “Yeah; Mum and Dad both said it ought to help. They still haven’t found any healer who could help with this disease, though, since they’re all frightened of trying anything too powerful because of my increased magic energy,” the brunet admitted. “It’s okay; I’m just going to try to stay focused this year on school and Quidditch.”

“That’s a good idea,” Mikasa agreed. “I really want our team this year to kick some serious arse. We’ve won the Cup the last few years, but all by narrow leads.”

 “When will tryouts be?” Eren asked and began to bounce his leg absentmindedly.

 “I’m hoping for Nanaba to let me make tryouts on orientation day since we have mini-classes.”

 Eren nodded and threw a smirk towards Armin. “You gonna try out for Ravenclaw’s team this year?”

 “Hell no,” Armin promptly answered. “I’ve told you at least a thousand times that I don’t enjoy _playing_ Quidditch; I love _watching_ it.” The trio’s laughter rang briefly throughout their small compartment, reverberating off the walls and making the atmosphere melancholic.

 “Ah damn, I can’t believe we’re seventh years now,” Eren sighed. He leaned over and plucked his shoulder bag up from the seat opposite of him and began to dig around for the food his mum had packed them. “I mean, it really feels like we were crossing the Black Lake and seeing the castle for the first time only yesterday,” he continued while handing out the small boxes with their meal inside. “Mum made these this morning. I think it’s breakfast food, I don’t remember.”

 “Your mum’s the best, Eren, I swear,” Armin thanked as he opened his box and gazed at its contents: golden brown pancakes and scrambled eggs, the same as Mikasa’s and Eren’s. “Yeah, you’re right. I still remember that awful first year when you and Mikasa wouldn’t stop fighting over everything. And then that horrible third year when you guys wouldn’t stop with the PDA everywhere.”

 “Yeah, even I have to admit that was pretty bad. We were snogging in literally every corner,” Mikasa added with a slight cringe.

 Eren let out a loud laugh and swallowed a large bite of his pancake. “Oh, I remember that. Didn’t we date for all of like three months before deciding we were better as friends?”

 “Probably,” the witch replied and began to eat her breakfast with gusto. “Oh my god, this is so good.”

 “Where are the others?” Eren asked between bites. “Usually, we all ride together.”

 “Getting the gossip before we reach the castle, I suppose,” Armin speculated. “I already heard a rumor about a new exchange student in their seventh year.”

 “You sure about that? Seventh year they usually don’t allow new students,” Eren matter-of-factly stated.

“I dunno; I’m just passing on what I heard. Anyway, who wants to trade chocolate frog cards?”

~*~*~*~*~

By the time the train pulled into the station, the sun had long since set and the sky had been dyed an inky indigo color. The stars twinkled high above them around the brighter moon that cast a glow on the path to the castle. Eren, Mikasa, and Armin all dismounted from the train and stood on the platform, their robes blowing slightly in the nighttime breeze. They didn’t bother grabbing any of their belongings other than what they brought into their compartment and managed to navigate their way through the crowd towards the carriages. When the trio arrived, they began to climb on until they heard a familiar voice calling.

 “Hey! Hey, Eren!” The slightly deeper pitch threw Eren off guard for a moment, but there was no denying that it belonged to Connie Springer. The brunet turned his head at the summon and grinned at the sight of his long-time friend. The moonlight gleamed over the top of Connie’s shaven head and Eren couldn’t help but snicker quietly. Following Connie was a small gaggle of some their friends: Sasha, Marco, and Jean.

 “Hey, guys!” Eren called happily. He scooted over towards the further end of the carriage to give enough room for the others to sit down. While Mikasa and Armin followed his lead, Sasha leaped aboard.

 “I feel like it’s been forever since we last chatted!” she exclaimed and took her seat next to Armin. “You guys never wrote us unless it was about Quidditch.”

“I had to remind the team to practice over the holiday,” Mikasa explained at some of the confused looks directed towards Sasha. “Sorry we haven’t written; it’s been a stressful summer.”

 “Yeah, next summer for you guys, the one before seventh year, is hell let me tell you,” Armin agreed. The cart jolted once before it began to move down the relatively short pathway into the castle.

“So what’s the gossip?” Eren suddenly asked, abruptly changing the topic. They all bounced as the carriage roughly turned a corner. Snowball let out an angry hiss from her carrier on Eren’s lap, one that Mikasa’s cat, Smokey, joined.

 “I heard there’s a new seventh year,” Connie answered. He hunched his shoulders and mischievously rubbed his hands together. “Apparently, he’s from Durmstrang.”

 “Durmstrang?” Armin repeated incredulously. “They let someone from Durmstrang in?”

 “How do you know he’s from Durmstrang?” Mikasa calmly asked, although her eyes sparkled with curiosity.

 “I saw him with a fur cloak over his robes when I had gone to the john,” Sasha explained. “Connie’s the one who thinks he’s a Durmstrang student.”

“I don’t think that’s true then,” Jean drawled as he adjusted his own cloak. The carriage came to a halt in from of the large pair of golden, gleaming doors, and the small group clambered out. As they made their way into the Entrance Hall with their belongings, their conversation was not hindered in the slightest.

“Hey! What the hell, you tosser?” Connie angrily protested. “I’m just as smart as you!”

“Relax. Firstly, I meant that the evidence Sasha had isn’t enough to immediately decide if he’s from Durmstrang. Secondly, you’d best not be calling a school prefect a ‘tosser.’” Connie merely shrugged and rolled his eyes at Jean’s smug grin.

 “The year hasn’t even started yet!”

The group of seventh and sixth years walked into the Great Hall with the same tingling feeling of mystery and excitement that they all collectively felt as first years. Armin bided his friends a farewell first before the rest of the group split to go to sit at their respective tables. Jean, Eren, Sasha, Connie, and Mikasa all made their way to the long Gryffindor table, and each plopped down at a place setting for the feast. While the others began another conversation, Eren’s mind wandered off. He stared at the ceiling that still managed to fascinate him after seven years. The night sky was painted above in a deep black, some gray, then hints of light blue for depth along with drops of white splattered about that shone with reverence.

“What do you think, Eren?” Connie demanded. Eren jerked back to attention with wide eyes.

“Eh?”

“Apparently that new seventh year is a quidditch player!” The bald one exclaimed. “The guy told Farlan, who told Hanji, who told Isabel, who told me!”

“I think the story’s changed,” Eren dismissed truthfully before turning to the front of the room at the three light taps on a glass that echoed across the room. The room fell silent almost at once and directed their attention to the Head Table where Headmaster Zacharius, the youngest headmaster Hogwarts had ever seen, rose.

“Let the sorting begin,” he declared with a slight wave of his long, silver wand. The pair of great wooden doors creaked loudly while they swung open to reveal Professor Nanaba in all her greatness leading a pack of excited eleven-year-olds. As the witch strolled with unmatched grace into the Great Hall, all eyes fell to the tallest member in the throng of first-years. His eyes glanced about with an air of unimpressiveness. He walked in the back of the group alone, but the separation seemed to suit him well. As he passed by Eren, the brunet couldn’t help but feel a slap indifference from the teen’s mere gait.

Nanaba came to a halt in front of the tall, rickety stool where the Sorting Hat sat quietly. She reached into her long sleeve and drew a thick scroll. “As I read your name, I want you to come up here and sit on the stool. I will place the Sorting Hat on your head, and it will determine your placement for your time spent here. Okay,” she paused to unroll the scroll then spoke again. “We’ll go in alphabetical order by last names. Ackerman, Levi!”

 At the name, the Great Hall broke out in whispers as they recognised it. Behind Eren, he heard another Gryffindor excitedly whisper, “ _The_ Levi Ackerman? Isn’t he some really good seeker from Durmstrang? Oh my god!”

A stern look from Nanaba quieted the whispers but could not stop the excited stares towards the one wizard moving. It was the same person Eren had been staring at. He had onyx hair that was nearly as dark as Mikasa’s, if not the same hue, that fell into his eyes. His eyes captivated Eren’s attention the most. They gleamed a piercing blue under the shadows cast over them, but bursts of silver sparkled faintly. He was fairly short but strolled without a care to the stool. The other first-years simply parted around him, like he was their unofficial King. Finally, the raven lowered himself to the stool and let a quiet sigh pass his lips.

Nanaba lowered the hat onto Levi’s head where it came to life with a groan. _“Hmmm. Let me see… Ah, here we are, Mr. Ackerman, a seventh year. Definitely not a Hufflepuff, no, you have more in you… A flair of ambiguity seems to nag you about me, yes, it’s all here where I can see it. You don’t think I can adequately sort you, eh? Well, let’s get back to business then.”_ Levi’s mouth moved but his words were too faint for anyone to hear. _“Definitely not Ravenclaw? But you have a competitive streak and high academic prowess.... That leaves Gryffindor and Slytherin.”_

A crease formed near the top of the Sorting Hat’s crooked top as if it was deep in concentration. _“Difficult. You possess skills that would make you great in either house. You’re ambitious, brave, resourceful, daring, a bit of a rule-breaker too. Ah, but a defining difference lies here. I won’t speak it aloud, no, you will discover it yourself. Well, Mr. Seventh Year, good luck in your new home: SLYTHERIN!”_ Applause rang through the Hall as Levi hopped down from the stool, brushed off his robes, then walked off to the rowdy Slytherins. Eren watched carefully as the other wizard sat down next to Farlan and took a swig of his pumpkin juice.

 The rest of the Sorting flew by without Eren’s attention. He took to staring at the ceiling again, intrigued by the twinkling of the stars. It wasn’t until Mikasa nudged him harshly in the ribs that he even acknowledged that Headmaster Zacharius was speaking.

"The Forbidden Forest is just as the name describes- forbidden. Please stay out unless you wish to end up in the hospital wing. And now, a new announcement for those on our House Quidditch Teams. This year, there will be a strict policy on requirements to be on the team. Any third or higher year student on it must maintain an Exceeds Expectations by the end of each quarter in each class or they will be barred from the team until their grades improve.”

 At this, the school body of witches and wizards alike began to protest loudly.

“Rubbish!” a Ravenclaw fourth year yelled.

“SILENCE!” Professor Nanaba spoke sternly as her voice echoed throughout the Hall due a simple enchantment. “These rules are to enhance your education. If you want to play, you must keep up with your schooling. No exceptions!” There were still some grumbles, including from the Gryffindor behind Eren, but for the most part, the school grudgingly accepted the new rule.

 “Now,” Headmaster Zacharius began with a smirk, “let the feast begin!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW!!!! Thank you for such a big response!!!!!! I'm excited to continue~  
> Also, so that there's no confusion, mini-classes are when each class is 20 minutes long and the school day ends at 12:30, followed by lunch.  
> (Also, the formatting got fucked up but I'm not gonna fix it so :P )
> 
> Enjoy!

“UGH!” Eren groaned as the final bell rang to dismiss classes. His last class, Transfiguration, which he gladly had all his friends in, had ended and already with homework. “We didn’t even have a full day of class, and there’s an exam at the end of the week!” he vented to both Mikasa and Armin as the trio remained in their seats briefly.

 

“Don’t forget about that History of Magic paper too,” Armin added. “Two rolls of parchment on Merlin and how he helped the magical community.”

 

“Jeez, that’s rough,” Mikasa added. “I was talking to Professor Nanaba about the Quidditch schedule, and our first game is in two weeks against Slytherin. We’ll have to cram a lot of practices in to train any newbies. And don’t forget about this new rule, Eren,” she pointed out. “If your grades aren’t high enough, I’m going to have to cut you from the team.”

 

But Eren had been distracted since Armin mentioned Merlin. His eyes were drawn to the only other person left in the classroom, sitting quietly only three desks away. He recognized him by his undercut: it was Levi Ackerman, the supposedly famous Quidditch player from Durmstrang. The Slytherin was writing something down that Eren couldn’t see with a blank expression.

 

“Oi! Earth to Eren!” Mikasa snapped, breaking through Eren’s haze.

 

“Sorry, sorry, sorry! We have two rolls about Merlin due, right?” Eren blurted out. The Head Girl merely sighed and flicked Eren’s nose.

 

“That’s what Armin said. I swear sometimes I wonder if you listen to me at all,” she teased lightly before standing up. “Anyway, Armin and I have to go for that Head Leaders and Prefects meeting. See you on the pitch!” Eren laughed and bid his friends farewell. He watched them leave, cloaks billowing slightly behind them, before slumping in his seat and sighing. He had heard what Mikasa said but didn’t want to face it. His grades were never at Exceeds Expectations. They were borderline Acceptable but mostly Poor. Somehow, he’d have to raise them an entire letter, but the answer of how to do so eluded his grasp.

 

“So,” a deep yet smooth sounding voice called out. “You’re Eren, correct?” Hearing his name in that voice jolted the Gryffindor out of his thoughts, and he turned his head. Levi kept his head down, writing on parchment, but Eren knew he was the one who had spoken.

“Yeah, Eren Jaeger,” he paused a moment before carefully continuing. “And you’re Levi Ackerman, right?” Levi nodded and finally looked up. Sharp blue eyes met relaxed teal for only a moment before glancing away.

 

“Are you busy right now?” Levi asked.

 

“Um, not particularly. No.”

 

“Good. Would you show me around the castle? Farlan fucking ran off when I asked him with some poxy excuse.” Eren sat with wide eyes at the sudden burst of profanity but nodded slowly regardless.

 

“Yeah, I can do that for you. Let me go grab my Quidditch gear from my room, then I’ll meet you back here,” Eren agreed. Levi simply blinked and nodded again before returning to his parchment. The two shared an awkward silence with the scratches of Levi’s quill for a minute before Eren shuffled out of the classroom.

 

The moment Eren had left, Levi let out a deep breath and leaned against the back of his chair, closing his eyes. He barely got any sleep last night from being more anxious and alert than usual. He hated having to sleep in the dungeons, but that was unfortunately where the Slytherin commons and dormitories were. Even though it had barely even been 24 hours, Levi still was doubtful of the Hat’s placement for him. He hated every Slytherin he met so far except for Farlan; everyone was too pretentious in his eyes.

 

Sensing that he wasn’t about to miraculously get sleep, Levi sat up and wearily rubbed his eyes. He rolled his parchment carefully as to not smudge any ink and placed it in his bag- he could finish that letter later. Instead, he pulled out his History of Magic textbook and began to read the assigned chapter. Work on it wasn’t due for another week, but he figured getting ahead would probably be to his benefit. In his left hand, Levi cautiously held his black quill, underlining passages he deemed important. Just as he neared the end, Eren came bustling back into the classroom.

 

“Sorry!” the Gryffindor shouted, decimating the peaceful silence in the classroom. “I got distracted and started doing some other things, but I’m back now. Where do you want to start?”

 

The library,” Levi answered. He screwed the lid back on his tiny ink bottle and tucked it, his quill, and textbook back into the small messenger bag he brought. Then, the Slytherin stood and slung the bag over his shoulder.

“Alright, follow me!” Eren excitedly shouted again much to Levi’s displeasure. Eren led them out of the classroom and towards the staircases. “So, where are you from, Levi?”

 

“Durmstrang.” Eren stayed quiet, hoping for more to Levi’s answer, but none came.

 

“Okay… I meant more like geographically-wise,” Eren tried again. At the staircase, Eren began to walk down with his eyes sharp for any signs of movement.

 

“Up North,” Levi supplied with an audible sigh. Eren’s nostrils flared at the second clipped answer, but he calmed himself almost as quickly as he got worked up.

 

The pair finally descended the stairs and turned left into a long corridor. Eren turned left again at a fairly small door and pushed it open. Levi walked in and his eyes widened with amazement. “Wow. This place is huge.” The library was Eren’s least favorite spot on the grounds, but even he could admit it had impressive beauty. There were bookcases with what seemed like hundreds of shelves, each packed with books, almost as far as he could see. Sunlight broke through the large windows between said bookcases and illuminated every speck of dust floating through the air and on higher shelves.

 

“Yup! This is our library; it’s open every day and closes at 8:00 sharp. There’s no food allowed, and each book has a spell on it to protect them from defacing and such. Just got to watch out for Professor Samuel. He’s a little off his rocker when it comes to his books,” Eren explained while lightly chuckling. “Okay, where to next?”

 

“The Great Hall from here,” Levi demanded.

 

“That’s just down the corridor,” Eren replied while pointing to the set of doors behind Levi. “Next?”

 

“The Quidditch pitch.”

 

“Ah, perfect; I was about to go there myself for try-outs!” Eren excitedly shouted again.

 

“Mister Jaeger!” the disembodied voice of Professor Samuel rang out. “Quiet in my library!”

 

“Sorry!” Eren shouted again. He nudged Levi and laughed, “We should probably go before you’re accidentally banned.”  Levi merely glared at the Gryffindor and strode out of the library and into the hallway. “So apparently you’re famous in Quidditch.”

 

“My uncle is the famous one,” Levi answered briefly. “I’m just the best seeker from Durmstrang.”

 

“So your uncle’s name is Levi too?” Eren asked, eager to finally keep a conversation going.

 

“No, dumbass. His name is Kenny, but our surname is the same. Everyone loses their shite because I’m from Durmstrang and of my last name.” Levi paused, debating whether or not to ask his question. “What are you trying out for?”

 

“I’m not trying out,” Eren proudly explained while they finally walked outside in the sunlight. The path to the Quidditch pitch was well-worn through the grass since nearly everyone in the school came to watch the games and occasionally practices. “I’m the best seeker at this school, so my place is secure. I get to help choose people.” At this, Levi let out a snort.

 

“You’re the best seeker at this school?” he asked incredulously.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Well, you don’t seem like much of a challenge.”

 

Eren paused to glare at the short Slytherin. “What do you mean by that?”

 

“I mean that I’ve seen you nearly all day in all my classes. You zone out a lot, have the attention span of a fruit fly, and I bet that you’re not as good as me,” Levi bluntly replied. His mouth stayed in its half-frown half-pout, but his eyes were different. Eren could see the burn of closely guarded excitement under the sharp bluish silver. He wanted to make sure they were burning with anger and hatred from losing to him.

 

“You’re an arsehole,” Eren declared with venom.

 

“Prove me wrong then,” Levi replied flippantly, smirking.

 

“I will,” Eren promised. Since they were already at the base of the Quidditch stands, Eren mounted his broom and sent his temporary companion another glare. “The way up is through the bottom flap on the left. Take the stairs all the way up, then you’ll find the seats.” Levi nodded, smirk still proud on his face, and watched as Eren flew off from the ground, cloak billowing behind him. “So he has a Firebolt too,” Levi murmured as he ducked inside the stand. “Interesting…”

 

Eren loved playing Quidditch with his entire heart and soul. As he pushed his old Firebolt harder, he rocketed into the air and grinned. He relished in the feeling of the wind ripping through his hair, face, and clothes. He couldn’t hear anything but the sound of his heart beating harshly from the exhilaration and the roar of pulsing blood. That, and Mikasa’s loud whistle.

 

Eren glanced beneath him and scanned the scene as he always did. Sitting in the stands, he spotted Armin with his eyes focused on the mass of flying try-outs, and Levi in another, his eyes focused on a book to far away for Eren to see. Ready to intimidate the newbies, Eren sped down to where Mikasa hovered on her broom.

 

“Don’t be like him if you want to join Gryffindor’s team,” she was saying while looking directly at Eren. “You’re late, Eren.”

 

“You just blew the whistle,” he grumbled soft enough that only Mikasa could hear him. She threw him another light-hearted glare and continued to speak.

 

“Anyway, I want you to divide into two teams and play a match. Eren and I will decide which players to keep and which ones to let go during this, so please take this seriously,” Mikasa declared sternly.

 

“This goes for seventh years too. Your position isn’t secured, so make sure you give it your best,” Eren added. “I’m looking at you, Jean!” The keeper merely flipped Eren off and leaned back on his broom, giving an air of nonchalance and suave.

 

“Alright, you two,” Mikasa settled. “I want Eren and Isabel on the same team; same with Jean and Ymir. Sasha and Connie, you guys are together too. Everyone else, fill in the gaps!”

 

Eren flew to the end of the field furthest from Mikasa with a shout of excitement, ready to play when a loud shout caught his attention. “EREN!” The brunet turned with a wide smile, having recognized the voice already. Isabel came speeding towards him, her wild claret colored hair flying behind her tied tightly in two short pigtails. “WE’RE ON THE SAME TEAM!”

 

“We’re an inseparable duo, me and you,” Eren agreed as he watched the remaining members of his team gather. “You get the bludgers while I get that snitch.” Isabel maneuvered her Cleansweep Eleven next to Eren and grinned mischievously.

 

“They don’t call me Crazy Izzy for nothing,” she chuckled while wielding her small, thick bat. A third year with blonde hair stared at Isabel in slight fear, going so far to minutely move her broom away from the redhead.

 

“No one calls you that,” Eren bluntly stated.

 

“Agh! I was trying to sound dramatic!” the sixth year protested lively. “Alright, are we ready to meet at the center of the pitch yet?”

 

“Just about,” Eren declared. First, he looked over the group of new recruits he had. He already knew that unless someone was truly a prodigy of sorts, no one on the old team would be replaced, but he still wanted them to play to their best. “Alright. Izzy, you and Blondie over there are our beaters; make each swing count. I’m seeker, uh Goggles,” a raised eyebrow answered Eren’s call, but Eren shrugged it off. “Yeah, you’re the keeper, so defend the posts with all your strength. Everyone else is a chaser; score our points the best you can, whenever you can. BREAK!”

 

The small, make-shift team flew to the center of the field where Mikasa held the box containing the bludgers, snitch, and quaffle. Jean’s team was already assembled and waiting when Eren’s arrived. “Due to time constraints,” Mikasa shouted, her voice carrying well above the small chatter, “This game will cap at 50 points, and if the snitch isn’t caught by then, it’ll be whoever can catch the snitch first.” Mikasa suddenly raced down to the ground and set the box on the grass. She kicked the box open for the snitch and bludgers to fly out first. Eren locked eyes on the small golden ball as it circled his head once before circling the other seeker’s and darting off. He continued to track the snitch with his eyes, giving the rest of the players the bare minimum of his attention. The moment Eren saw the quaffle leave Mikasa’s fingertips, he flew off, high into the sky.

 

Eren couldn’t fight the grin on his face as the wind distorted his hair, keeping each brown strand untamed and free in its grasp. A light laughter bubbled out from his throat and in that moment, his attention slipped from the snitch to flying. Eren tipped the front of his Firebolt down in a dive before pulling up again, successfully flying a loop. He relished in the broom’s responsiveness to his every movement. Eren smiled and stroked the neck of the broomstick gently with his bare fingertips. Its usual rough texture was smooth and worn under his hands from its age, but Eren could still feel the thrum of magic in it. Whether it was his own magic energy going into the broom or its own, the Firebolt submitted to Eren’s will.

 

The brunet brought his broom to a halt and he began to watch the game in earnest. He grinned when Isabel let out a loud cheer as his team scored. “Another 10 points to Gryffindor,” Eren mumbled to himself. While he watched the energetic redhead, he noticed a flash of light pass right by her: the snitch. As if the broomstick read his mind, Eren jolted forward and raced down to the other players. He swerved to avoid any stray hand or bristled broom end, eyes set on nothing except the snitch. The little golden nightmare flew with determination away from Eren but in vain. With his hand outstretched, Eren strained his fingers forward. He could feel the cold metal surface, but couldn’t quite get a firm grasp. The wizard spurred his loyal broom onward and clasped his hand around the small flying ball.

 

“I CAUGHT THE SNITCH!” Eren bellowed loudly. Mikasa’s whistle blew and the game ended, groans coming from each side.

 

“Everyone in the center!” Mikasa ordered. The Gryffindors gathered around the captain and listened expectantly. “To be honest, Jean’s team scored more than Eren’s, meaning that I’m going to keep the old chasers. Eren, I’m keeping you as well as Jean. Isabel your ferocity is very much needed, so I’m keeping you too. Everyone else, thank you for coming out today and come to support Gryffindor in two weeks.” At this, the rejects landed and began to leave the pitch, grumbling and muttering as they went. “Okay, for you guys,” the captain ordered. “Practice every other day until we play. No excuses tolerated, unless you break a limb. With this new Ackerman guy on Slytherin’s team, this year just got a hell of a lot more tricky.”

 

“But Slytherin didn’t even have try-outs yet!” Sasha whined.

 

“They won’t need to,” Jean grunted. “He’s good enough to outclass their current seeker.”

 

“Wait, so who are we playing against in two weeks?” Connie asked Ymir softly while Mikasa continued.

 

“Slytherin, you pillock,” the witch responded with a soft tone of annoyance.

 

Connie seemed ready to fire a retort back but thought better of it when Mikasa sent them a glare from the corner of her eyes. “As I was saying, pay attention in your classes, because Professor Nanaba is really going to be checking for this grade system thing. I’ll be pissed if I have to lose one of my best players because they didn’t meet the standard.”

 

“Eren,” Jean mumbled under his breath.

 

“What was that? If you’re gonna insult me, Jean, I think you’re looking to get hurt,” Eren seethed.

 

“Enough you two,” Mikasa sighed exasperatedly. “I’ll see you all tomorrow here at 8:00. Don’t be late, or you’ll fly laps.” The team chuckled and broke apart to go their own ways. Eren flew close to the ground before leaping off and carrying his broom over his shoulder. A soft smile danced on his lips as he proceeded to the trail leading back to the school.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehe I'm back again.... but being serious, this is probably my last update for a few weeks. Three Wishes will update next if you follow that story and the unfortunate loom of school is back. Stick with me okay? This will be...interesting and fun ;P
> 
> Also, i headcanon that by the time you're a seventh year at Hogwarts, you don't give a shit anymore about rules, school drama, teachers, etc. The only thing you care about is passing your N.E.W.T.S. Same goes for teachers. They'll scold you but don't care if you break a few rules. If it's bad then they'll take off points, if it's really bad then take off a lot of points and detention. I thought i should mention this because it will show in the writing a lot.
> 
> enjoy~!

Eren knew that being a seventh year at Hogwarts was challenging. That had been drilled into his head by his mother and Professor Nanaba in fifth year. He also knew that being a seventh year with a mental disability at Hogwarts would probably feel unbearable. He learned that on his own at the end of fifth year when he was studying his ass off and began radiating magical energy from all his stress, prompting objects near him to explode.

 

He was still wrong.

 

Eren realized at about 3 A.M. on Friday morning as he hastily scribbled out his poorly written excuse for an essay about Merlin that seventh year at Hogwarts would be utter hell until the week of NEWT. exams. Then, it would be worse than Hell. The dormitory was dark save for Eren’s wand as the other boys tried to sleep.

 

"Merlin...was a...wizard...and...," Eren grunted as he hurriedly wrote out his essay. "Shit, what happened?" Eren ran an ungloved hand roughly through his hair, not noticing that where his fingertips touched turned white. "Pulled...a sword...out of...a giant rock." The stressed wizard paused and read over the last several sentences. "Fuck, this doesn't make sense." He looked up at the small clock on his nightstand and swore with malice; the time read 3:30. "Why can't I just focus when I need to?" he hissed angrily. "Fuck it. I only need," Eren raised his parchment and looked over his essay, "like two more paragraphs. Professor Dietrich won't even read this far. Probably." The brunet hastily wrote down another sentence before stopping again. "Hopefully. Hopefully, he won't read this far," Eren amended.

 

"Eren, I swear on the Minister of Magic's life that if you don't go the _fuck_ to sleep, I will smother you with my pillow until you stop breathing," Jean groaned from his four-poster bed. "Between you and Gunther's fucking snores, I'm not going to get any beauty sleep this entire damn year."

 

Eren didn't bother dignifying Jean's threat with a look. "Piss off, Jean. I don't think beauty sleep works on pricks."

 

"Fuck off, Jaeger."

 

"Go to sleep, Johnny-Boy."

 

"I'll kick your arse."

 

"I'll set your bed on fire."

 

"I'll take your Firebolt."

 

"I'll suck your dick," Eren sighed as he dotted the parchment roll with a final period.

 

"...What?"

 

"You heard me," Eren yawned as he grabbed his wand, which had acted as a makeshift lamp the past two hours. He tossed it on his bed to give the room some light as he slowly stripped. "I'll suck your tiny ass prick again."

 

"It's not tiny, and besides, that happened like two years ago. I have someone for that now," Jean grumbled.

 

"Goodnight," Eren muttered and yanked his covers back, startling Snowball from her slumber, and wrapping himself tightly in a calming warmth.

 

"Goodnight. And for the love of God, turn your damn wand off."

 

" _Nox_ ," the half-asleep wizard murmured aloud, letting the dormitory be bathed in darkness.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

"How late were you up?" Mikasa asked, staring at Eren's rugged appearance as he left the boys dormitory and they began their way downstairs together. The brunet, well white striped brunet, rubbed his eyes and adjusted the loose tie on his neck. His robes were slung haphazardly around his shoulders, and his white shirt was completely untucked.

 

"3:45ish," Eren managed while rubbing his eyes again. He hoisted his bag further on his shoulder and groaned. "Can I skip practice today? I need sleep."

 

"No," Mikasa sharply answered. "We need to touch up on all of our plays. The game is literally next week."

 

"Alright, alright, I didn't mean to get your Captain side out," the wizard huffed.

 

"Say, Eren," the Ackerman started with a slight smile painting her face as they reached the busy common room. "Have you looked in a mirror today?"

 

"No, why? Is it something I did?" he asked, frantically checking his outfit.

 

"Well, let's see. First off, you have a wide stripe of white down the center of your hair. Secondly, you look like you fell asleep in yesterday's uniform," Mikasa answered truthfully but not without a few chuckles. "Oh, and you're not wearing your gloves."

 

Eren stared at his long, slender, olive fingers as if they held the key to his freedom from his disabilities. Instead, he dropped his hand and sighed. "I don't give a flying fuck. I'm tired, let's just go to breakfast," muttered and began to walk ahead.

 

"Okay, Grumpy Pants," Mikasa called from behind him while she strolled casually. The pair left their house only to find Armin standing outside it, reading. He glanced up at the sound of the door opening and smiled.

 

"Hey-" The blonde stopped short when he noticed Eren's appearance. "What-"

 

"I don't want to talk about it," Eren huffed as he continued walking without so much glancing at his friend. Armin cracked a grin and looked to the well-dressed Mikasa.

 

"How late was he up?" the blonde chuckled.

 

"Nearly 4. Don't even mention the white streak," the raven whispered through her own smile.

 

"Got it."

 

The trio walked into the Great Hall, and Armin decided to sit with the two Gryffindors. As food magically appeared on their plates, a conversation began."You know I could take points from Ravenclaw for you breaking the rules," Mikasa teased.

 

"Please," Armin replied coolly. "Most people don't even know that it's against the rules. Besides, Marco sits by Jean every day, and he's in Hufflepuff."

 

"That's different, though," Mikasa protested while eating her breakfast.

 

"Because you fancy Jean-Bo?" Eren added, his mood slowly lifting.

 

"Because they're shagging," she deadpanned.

 

"How do you know?" Armin asked, tone drenched in humorous curiosity.

 

"I'm not a perv, Armin. I heard noises from a closet on my way to the common room two nights ago and I...well...they're pretty loud," she admitted with a red face.

 

"Hey, Jean!" Eren called out. Mikasa's eyes widened as she heard the boy's name fly off Eren's lips. "I suggest using a sound blocking charm next time. Something like  _muffliato_ should work." For extra measure, Eren glanced Marco and winked. The white and brown haired boy began laughing as the prefect's face slowly reddened at the implications.

 

"Ah, damn it," Eren managed as his laughter subsided. "I told him I'd suck his dick too last night. I guess Marco's doing that now." As he took a bite out of his second round of pancakes, he remained blissfully ignorant to the grossed out faces of his friends.

 

"Eren, what the hell happened last night?" Armin carefully prodded. "And if it's anything sexual, I don't want to know."

 

"What? I was just finishing my essay for Dietrich. Other than that it was just friendly banter."

 

"A little too friendly if you ask me," Mikasa muttered.

 

"Don't worry, it'd be casual if anything. The Jean ship has long since sailed."

 

Mikasa opened her mouth to start a new conversation, but her voice was drowned out by the obnoxious chiming coming from the loudspeakers, signaling five minutes until class.

 

"Crap baskets! We have to go," Armin yelped. He crammed two last bites of his breakfast into his mouth before grabbing the scruff of Eren's clothes and yanking the other wizard up, dragging him out of the hall and into class, despite all his colorful protests. The duo walked into the classroom quickly, taking their seats just as the bell sounded. Professor Dietrich drifted through the wall into the class, gathering their attention.

 

"Please hand in your essays now, then get into your houses," the old ghost's scratchy voice uttered. Eren stood and placed his two parchment rolls on Dietrich's desk before glancing over the class. He found himself surprised at the small size; on Monday, it had seemed so big. There were only 4 seventh years that had the first-period class, including himself, Armin, Erwin Smith, and fucking Levi. Armin and Erwin paired up quickly, both being Ravenclaws, and sat down at a shared desk while they began to trade notes. The only available person left for Eren to partner with would be...

 

No. Absolutely not.

 

"Professor!" Both the Gryffindor and Slytherin called. The ghost looked up from reading the essays and raised an eyebrow.

 

"Eren's a Gryffindor, but I'm in Slytherin. We can't be partners," Levi tried to argue without sounding overly petty.

 

"That's okay with me, Professor. I'd like to partner with Armin instead," Eren agreed.

 

Professor Dietrich merely blinked and pointed to an empty shared desk. "You're partners. Now go do the assignment on the board."

 

"But, Professor, we hardly get along-" Eren tried further.

 

"Mr. Jaeger, not everyone can get along; that's life, and you just have to learn to deal with it. I suggest you two learn to work together since these partners will be for the entire year. Now go get started, or I'll give you both Trolls on your assignment," the ghost threatened.

 

The two rivals forcibly sat down in their required desk with an audible huff. Eren began tapping the desk in unnoticed irritation as he opened his textbook and started reading the assigned pages. The classroom fell silent to the occasional scratch of a quill on parchment and Eren's tapping finger. The boy managed three pages before his mind wandered from the assignment. He took to absentmindedly gazing at his desk. The wood was freshly polished for the year and just a tad sticky. There were tiny words carved in the curves of the surface. He squinted at them, trying to read them better. Eren could decipher a "colo" on his own, but the rest of the phrase was too butchered to decipher.

 

"Oi, Stripes," Levi hissed quietly. "Wanna stop tapping your finger? It's getting on my nerves."

 

Eren scoffed at the nickname but smirked as he started drumming four fingers on the table. "Does this annoy you?"

 

"I'm going to beat your arse."

 

"I'd like to see you try."

 

"You will next week. I can't wait to watch the look on your face when you see me with the snitch in my hand," Levi goaded.

 

"I can't wait until I win next week's game, and you have to eat all the shit you're spewing," Eren retorted.

 

The two seekers glared at each other, eyes meeting in a clash of dominance. Steel blue against cocky teal; brains over brawn. Those hard blue eyes were shining again, faint hunger for something that Eren couldn't figure out lurking beneath. Levi tucked a loose strand of hair behind his hair and smirked.

 

"What?" Eren asked, brow furrowed. The soft rustling of parchment in front of him answered his question. The Gryffindor turned his attention from Levi's eyes to the desk and felt his heart sink as he stared at his graded essay. Marked in red ink was a large P for poor at the top. Eren groaned and crammed the paper into his textbook, not even wanting to look at it.

 

"Keep those grades going, and I'll win every game since you won't compete," Levi snidely whispered.

 

"Arsehole. I bet you only got Acceptable," Eren replied in a hushed tone.

 

"Try Outstanding," the Slytherin bragged. "Smarts beats muscle every time, shithead."

 

"Prick," Eren mumbled.

 

"Mr. Jaeger, I don't tolerate swears in my classroom. 5 points from Gryffindor for profanity," Professor Dietrich's scraggly voice ordered.

 

"But Levi started it!"

 

"I haven't heard him say a thing all of class, Eren. And I don't suggest taking that tone if you don't want to lose more points for your house." Eren suppressed an eye roll and instead dragged a hand through his hair roughly to ground himself.

 

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Levi quietly spoke. "When you touch your hair, it turns white." Eren yanked his hands back and let out an audible groan.

 

"Dammit."

 

"See? Just like I told you, brains over brawn," Levi replied with another smirk that Eren was really beginning to hate.

  
"Well, you can take your brains and shove them-" Eren was interrupted by the bell before he could finish his insult. He scrambled up and quickly gathered his belongings before practically bolting to Potions. He needed a class period to clear his head from Levi. But when second period began with Levi sitting only a table away, Eren began to realize just how fucked this year would be.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“I can’t stand him!” Eren vented to Mikasa as the pair walked up to the Quidditch pitch. “He’s a nightmare in all my classes, and get a load of this, Dietrich is making me pair up with him as partners for the whole year. The entire year, Mikasa!”

 

“Damn, that sounds awful,” she sympathized. “Also, five points, Eren? I checked the points today, and Gryffindor lost five because of profanity.” Mikasa sent him a reprimanding glare.

 

“He started it, and Dietrich claims to only have heard me,” Eren justified.  He purposefully kept his gaze away from Mikasa’s and kicked at a colorful Zonko’s box left on the ground.

 

“It’s only five points, so I don’t care that much, but just be careful. Knowing you, I wouldn’t be surprised if this continued to happen.” Eren nodded mindlessly to his friend’s scolding, truly finding an interest in how green the grass still was. At home, he knew the grass would already become lifeless and itchy, completely and uttered burned. Perhaps they used an enchantment? Maybe there was a spell that kept it resistant to burning? But if that were the case, what about length? Without burning to death, the grass would keep growing, but in his six previous years, Eren had never once seen a lawn mower. Maybe they had another enchantment? But-

 

“Eren!” The white haired boy jolted back from spacing out and he blinked at Mikasa. “I asked how’d your paper go?”

 

Immediately, the wizard’s heart jumped into his throat. He could feel a bead of sweat form near his temple and slowly slip down his face. “Uh…it went well,” Eren lied. He refused to meet Mikasa’s gaze again as they trudged further up the hill.

 

“You’re lying,” the captain sighed. “What did you get?”

 

“What are you, my mother?” Eren grumbled.

 

“No, I’m not, but you know how much she loves me,” Mikasa pointed out. “Don’t make me write her.”

 

“Agh! I got a Poor on it,” Eren admitted with a deep-set glare. “I forgot about the paper until midnight and then I pulled it out of my arse.”

 

“Eren!”

 

“I know I know! ‘It’s not going to look good on applications after you graduate’ or ‘How are you going to pass your N.E.W.T. if you keep slacking like this’. I’ve heard all the usual reproofs before, “ Eren drawled.

 

“Well, add Quidditch to the list,” Mikasa huffed angrily. “You can’t start the year like this.”

 

“Mikasa, I’ll be fine,” Eren grumbled. “They don’t check until the end of the quarter anyway.” Sudden pain in Eren’s arm caused him to yelp and cast his glare at his companion.

 

“It doesn’t matter when they check. Your grade average needs to be Exceeds Expectations in each class,” she stressed. “Every bad grade counts, Eren.”

 

“I’ll turn them around, alright? Have at least a little faith in me.” Mikasa remained silent with the exception of a long sigh.

 

The pair reached the edge of the pitch and stopped to watch the team above end their practice. Emerald green cloaks fluttered in the wind as Slytherin players raced to the center of the pitch. Eren could identify each player easily since he knew most personally. His eyes, however, were drawn to only one player. She flew her broom with an air of ease and nonchalance to the center. A bright, silver 2 2 fluttered from the back of her cape along with the short wisps of blonde hair that poked out from her keeper's headgear. Impassive pale blue eyes that Eren couldn't see, but knew were there, shone with an intensely.

 

"You've got to be kidding me. Already?" Mikasa breathed out.

 

"Hm?" Eren hummed, attention too captivated by the keeper to spare much for Mikasa.

 

"Tell me I'm wrong and that the expression on your face isn't one of wonder and amazement towards Annie." Eren froze and cursed internally.

 

"...no?"

 

"Damn it, Eren," Mikasa sighed. "I won't stop you from pursuing her, but there are several things to take into account."

 

"What do you mean?" Eren asked and finally tore his eyes away from his crush.

 

"First off, the friends she hangs out with all make your life hell," the other Gryffindor pointed out. "She's practically inseparable from Reiner and Bertolt. And with a reputation like yours, any relationship you start will be known throughout the entire school and staff."

 

"Ugh, I know already. But she's cute, and I can try to avoid the other two while I swoon her," the white-haired wizard chuckled. "And what do you mean everyone will know?"

 

"You're a popular seventh year who's the best seeker in the school and are a very open pansexual who can’t keep his legs closed. You're like the inspiration of the other school sluts," Mikasa teased innocently.

 

Eren placed a hand on his chest and gasped to show his fake hurt. "I'm offended you'd think such a thing! But what can I say, I'm a very sexual person," he added with a shrug. "I can't help that everyone wants some of these Jaeger buns."

 

"Oh my god, this conversation is over," Mikasa declared before mounting her broom. Eren followed closely behind her, smiling wildly with laughter tearing from his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments, please! Feel free to write what you think will happen; I love theories!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry for the wait! also, there's some bullying in this chapter that could be alarming or triggering to people starting where there are asterisks so please be careful! I'll describe it in the end notes if you want to skip over it.

The week leading up to Friday seemed to fly by faster than Eren could say Quidditch. He fought the urge to jump from excitement with each step he took as he hurriedly walked down the corridor leading to the Great Hall. The young wizard waltzed into the nearly empty hall and sped over to the Gryffindor table. Mikasa and Armin weren’t down yet since it was still fairly early, so he sat next to Gunther.

 

“Morning, Gunther!” Eren sang loudly as he slid into place on the bench.

 

“Hey, Eren. Yeh seem quite lively this morn; I’m betting it’s on account of-“

 

“There’s a game today!” the brunet interrupted with a mischievous grin. “You gonna be the announcer?”

 

“I’m the _commentator,_ lad. Yeh get the title wrong every time yeh talk to me,” Gunther huffed in annoyance. Eren couldn’t help but hide his chuckle; the easiest way to annoy Gunther was to call him an announcer. So naturally, Eren called him an announcer at least once in each of their admittedly rare conversations. “But yeah, I’m doing it all year actually. McCallen graduated last year, so they decided to just have me do it instead of finding another commentator to alternate between.”

 

“Oh, okay then.” There was a slight pause in which Eren groaned and tightened his grip on his wand, consequently firing of a burst of snow into the air. “I just want to go play right now.” Eren stood dramatically, only capturing the attention of first years who hadn’t seen his classic pre-game Quidditch speech. “I want to feel the wind rustling my hair, feel the snag of the snitch’s wing when I catch it!” He plopped down back on the bench and sighed. “I don’t want to go to classes and stuff.”

 

“Well, look at it like this: if yeh go to class, yeh can shit talk your opponents and build-up the game even more,” the Head Boy smirked before taking a swig of pumpkin juice from a golden goblet.

 

“Oh right! I forgot about that,” Eren shouted as he perked up. “Oh man, this is going to be _great_!

 

“Gunther, please tell me you didn’t just give Eren the idea of trash talking in class,” Mikasa breathed in exasperation as she walked by them before sitting down next to Eren. “The idiot has enough to focus on without this floating through his head. Also, here,” she said while handing Eren his gloves. “You must’ve dropped them because I found them on the common room floor.” While Eren tugged on the slim leather, Gunther spoke.  

 

“Well, this will be an interesting match, Captain,” Gunther shrugged. “There’s been noticeable tension between Levi and Eren, and I want to talk about that while commentating so I’m trying to get material.” The Quidditch captain shook her head and began to spread grape jelly on a piece of toast.

 

“It’s against the rules to talk about rivalries,” she protested lightly.

 

“Since when has anyone paid attention to Quidditch rules? Blatching isn’t allowed, but when has that actually been enforced?” The seventh year pointed out. “And besides it only applies if the rivalry isn’t about Quidditch.”

 

"You're ridiculous," the dark haired girl chided. “I don't know why they made you Head Boy."

 

"Same reason they made you Head Girl: had no other option," the commentator cheekily answered before drinking from his goblet once more. Eren snickered as he reached for his own goblet of pumpkin juice and attempted to mimic Gunther. The pair of drinking men met eyes for a moment and burst out in fits of laughter amid choking on juice. Mikasa merely watched them with disinterested eyes and a small smirk that revealed her own humor, proceeding to take a small bite of her jellied toast.

 

At this point, the Great Hall was filled with the chatter of students from all houses. No table was louder than Gryffindor though, partially because it was a Quidditch day and partially because it was Friday. Eren grinned to himself at the general atmosphere and aggressively bit his syrup and powdered sugar doused waffle.

 

“Eren, you’re going to get too fat to ride a broomstick if you keep eating unhealthily like that,” Mikasa pointed out while watching the Seeker gorge on the sugar bomb. The brunet merely shrugged and continued to eat.

 

“I’ll work it off.” He managed around a mouthful. The Head Girl cringed and sighed.

 

At the High Table, Headmaster Zacharius stood and slowly made his way to the owl podium. “Attention!” He spoke and instantly quieted the entire hall. “A few announcements before the day begins, if I may. For starters, I’ve been asked to remind you all that the Forbidden Forest is very much like its name, _forbidden;_ please stay out. Zonko products are allowed in the castle, but please refrain from using them in the halls, as they do tend to leave a nasty scent behind…”

 

Eren tried his hardest to pay attention to the Headmaster, but he found himself becoming more invested at examining the brightening sky that made the ceiling of the room. Clouds lazed about in varying shapes and sizes, blocking the sunlight from pouring in as it usually did. He watched them carefully, identifying an owl and at least one dragon before he felt a tap on his shoulder. The Gryffindor flinched and rattled the bench lightly as he fixed Mikasa with a glare; she knew he hated being surprised. She darted her eyes to the Headmaster and silently communicated the order Eren knew all too well: “ _Pay attention!”_ He sighed and propped his head up with the heel of his palm and began to register the soft spoken words Zacharius uttered.

 

“And now, the announcement I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for. There is indeed a Quidditch match today after classes. For our first match of the year, it is a rematch of the House Cup: Gryffindor-” the Great Hall filled with loud cheers from the table of lions, red, and gold. Eren banged his fist against the table as he shouted along with the rest of him housemates.

 

“ _Gryffindor! Gryffindor! Gryffindor!”_ They chanted loudly until Zacharius rose his hand to silence them.

 

“Gryffindor House against Slytherin-” the poor man was interrupted again, this time by louder cheers from the table of serpents, green, and silver.

 

“ _Slytherin! Slytherin! Slytherin!”_ They thundered in perfect unison. Levi watched the chaotic, shouting table with a raised eyebrow and refrained from joining the mess. They too were quieted by the Headmaster’s hand so that he could continue.

 

“My, my,” he chuckled. “Well, obviously this has been highly anticipated. The match is at 5:00 tonight at the Quidditch pitch, so dinner will be postponed until it is over. Finally, one last thing before I dismiss you all. At 4:00, parents who wish to see this match will arrive. Any Head Leader who is not playing in the game is required to escort them to the pitch and their proper stand. Now, off to classes all of you!” The screech of wood against marble reverberated through the Hall as every bench scraped against the floor with the rise of students. Eren summoned one last waffle from his magical plate and grabbed it before slinging his small bookbag over one shoulder. The seventh year let himself be pushed forward by the crowd until he came to the doors, then he shoved his way through people until he came to the miraculously clear hallway for History of Magic.

 

Eren burst into the class with a wide grin and a loud sigh. “The hallways are freaking packed!”

 

“You can say that again,” Armin added as he too strolled into the classroom with Erwin and Levi in tow. “It was nearly imposs…” Eren ignored Armin in favor of watching the short Slytherin. Gunther’s words from earlier flitted through his head briefly and before he could try to filter his thoughts, he interrupted Armin with a question of his own.

 

“So! Armin, you excited for this game tonight?” Eren inquired loudly. “When Gryffindor wins, I’ll ask Nanaba to let you stay for the House party.”

 

“You seem pretty confident in yourself, Jaeger,” Levi couldn’t help but reply to the poorly veiled taunts. “I hope you’re able to back yourself up.”

 

Eren narrowed his eyes at the way his surname rolled off Levi’s tongue; he said Jaeger with a short ‘a’ sound, as in “above”. “I hope you’re an actual challenge. So far it seems like it’s all talk,” the Gryffindor jeered.

 

“Oh, yeah? You think so?” Levi sneered, stepping towards the brunet.

 

“Yeah, I do,” Eren fired back and also stepped forward. The two seekers stood only a few inches apart, close enough that Eren could smell the mint off Levi’s breath, the scent of green apples from his hair, and see a twinkle of beguilement in his eyes. Those eyes drove him wild; they seemingly never changed from afar, but each time Eren saw them closely, they flickered with different emotions constantly.

 

Levi, on the other hand, looked up at the Gryffindor. Turquoise and teal eyes were painfully truthful in portraying the others feelings: simple mischief. His breath carried blueberries and another, unidentifiable source made him smell like wild daisies and chrysanthemums. Levi found himself thinking that it was an aroma he could get used to.

 

Alright, alright, everyone take your seats,” Professor Dietrich spoke with a hint of annoyance, instantly diffusing the situation. Levi flashed a smirk and went to sit down next to Erwin while Armin sat beside Eren. “Now then, Arthur was a wizard…”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

By second period, Eren needed some excitement to keep him awake. Naturally, that meant tormenting the other Seeker. The potion to make for the day was a batch of Shrinking Solution. “I’m going to get us some Shrivelfigs and cowbane,” Eren muttered to Mikasa and Armin and hopped off his stool. The Shrivelfigs were on a high shelf of the ingredients cabinet Professor Zackley kept open during class. Tired teal eyes fell on a short raven and instantly, Eren felt reinvigorated. Levi stood staring at the high shelf with irritation painting his facial features.

 

“Having a bit of a problem?” Eren cheekily asked. “Can’t reach the Shrivelfigs?” Levi remained silent, but that in itself was the obvious answer. The Gryffindor easily reached up and swiped three bags of the ingredient, impulsively grabbing one more. He tossed it into the Slytherin’s hands and grinned smugly. “Careful now Levi! If any of that shrinking potion gets on you, I don’t think anyone would be able to see you!”

 

Levi simply closed his eyes and chuckled. “I can’t wait to teach you some fucking manners on the field later. It’s nearly maddening how ignorant you are.” Without waiting for a retort, Levi turned and strode back to his table where Erwin and the infamous Hanji sat. After a moment, Eren too retreated to his table and handed out the ingredients.

 

“What took you so long?” Mikasa probed.

 

“Uh…friendly banter with Levi,” Eren mumbled quickly and pretended to immerse himself in preparing the potion.

 

“Really? _Friendly_ banter?” she pushed.

 

“Yes.”

 

“You’re lying,” Mikasa declared while staring at the red tips of Eren’s ears. “I told you not to trash talk in class!”

 

“Agh, it’s not that big a deal,” Eren groaned and added the Shrivelfigs. “Believe it or not, I’ve paid more attention than usual. Or at least, I don’t zone out as often because of it.”

 

“Just try not to do it often then,” Mikasa relented and focused back on her own potion, performing a difficult wand wave over it.

 

“I won’t,” Eren promised. A promise he managed to hold through third period in Charms. Professor Ness gave them a free period to work on an essay about the classification of spells due the upcoming Monday.

 

Eren managed to work steadily without looking out the window for a full ten minutes before he got distracted by a note. It was folded into an airplane and opened itself up once it landed safely on his paper.

 

**Inside, in a familiar, messy scrawl, was a crude animation of him on his knees with his ass up and a line of men behind him each taking turns fucking him before leaving for the next to step up. Under the scene in bold, capital letters was “MANKY WHORE”.**

 

Eren swallowed hard against the lump in his throat and managed to roll his eyes. He crumpled the note in his hand and shoved it into his robe pocket. A snicker in the otherwise quiet classroom drew his attention to the two assholes who drew the damn thing sitting only a desk away: Reiner and Bertolt. The pair were nearly inseparable and decided to make Eren’s life a living nightmare once he came out in fifth year. Their antics didn’t bother him as much anymore, but he still hated them for making him feel worthless, even if just for a second. He wasn't worthless. He didn't sleep around because he had issues; he simply liked sex. He wasn't a whore, and he especially wasn't manky.

 

"Eren?" Professor Ness softly asked, shaking the boy from his increasingly heated thoughts. "Everything okay?"

 

Eren blinked and felt unknown tension seep out of his system. His hands unclenched from tight fists, and the remnants of his broken quill clattered onto his paper. Ink was smeared on his gloves, but he just wiped it off on his robes.

 

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just, um, nerves or something," the seeker lied.

 

"Alright," Ness agreed skeptically and walked back to his desk. The moment the professor was out of earshot, Armin leaned over.

 

"What happened? You never get nerves."

 

"Fucking Reiner and Bertolt again," Eren huffed and reluctantly pulled out the crumpled note. The blond glanced at it quickly, and his face morphed into one of fury.

 

"They're going to pay for that," he hissed angrily.

 

"No, don't," Eren quickly replied and crammed the note back into the depths of his pocket. "It'll only make them worse later."

 

"You can't keep letting them do this to you," Armin argued with a slight hint of desperation in his sparkling blue eyes.

 

"I can take care of myself, Armin."

 

"Oh, class," Professor Ness called out suddenly, gathering his students' attention. Eren and Armin both started in their seats and turned to face the professor. "Alright, there will be a cumulative exam of all the spells we've learned this month in two weeks. It will be a practical exam, so you need to be able to perform each spell. This is going to take up a fourth of your grade, so don't take it lightly. Now scram." The bell rang, announcing the end of class, and Eren made a beeline for the door before the Ravenclaw could utter another word about the note.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

By the time seventh period rolled around, Eren had all but forgotten about the note. As the day got closer and closer to ending, his excitement about the game escalated more and more. "Mr. Jaeger," Professor Nanaba sighed in exasperation again. "Please control yourself. You're setting off sparks again." Eren snapped to attention again with a jolt and flushed with shame as he set his wand down and folded his hands together, squeaking the leather just slightly.

 

"Sorry, Professor," he replied sheepishly. Nanaba continued on with her lesson and Eren tried, he really did, to stay engaged. But sooner than later, he found himself zoning out again. He could imagine the game clearly in his mind. There would be roaring shouts for both Gryffindor and Slytherin clashing against each other. He could see the contrasting colors of silver against gold and emerald green against crimson red rippling through the stands. He would be high up in the sky on his reliable broomstick and flying towards the sky faster than any other player when eyes locked on the snitch. Steadily getting closer and closer and-

 

_Thump!_

 

"Ouch," Eren groaned to himself and rubbed his head. He hit his head on something rough and hard, but no one sat behind him... Something did not seem quite right; he felt sort of airy and light and considerably warmer than he was before. The seeker glanced below him to find his classmates lounging about while talking with each other. He was floating above them, seemingly ignored by all. "Mikasa! Hey Mikasa!" Eren shouted over the other voices. The girl raised her head towards the source of Eren's voice and merely blinked at the discovery of his location.

 

"Really?"

 

"I'm sorry?" the seeker replied with slight inflection. "Help me down, would you?" Mikasa sighed but stood and whipped her sleek, black wand out.

 

" _Wingardium leviosa_ ," she announced clearly along with a swish and flick of her wand. Eren felt his body go warm as the spell cast over him and slowly began to move him down in sync with Mikasa's wand. Once his feet touched the ground, he let out a nervous chuckle and ran his gloved hand through his dusty locks. As the dust filtered around him, Eren felt a pounding come from the bridge of his nose. His eyes watered slightly before slamming shut as he let out a loud sneeze.

 

"Merlin's beard, Eren!" Nanaba snapped, but she did not raise her eyes from the papers she decided to grade.

 

"Sorry, Professor!" he apologized with a laugh and bounced on the balls of his feet twice before deciding to sit down again. The brunet looked over to the Quidditch Captain with a raised eyebrow. "Hey, why isn't Nanaba lecturing?"

 

"She gave up because most the class was talking anyway. Everyone's too hyped up for the game," she explained with a small smile, partially leaning on the desk. "But there's a quiz Monday, so we have to read the lesson over the weekend."

 

"Yeah, I'm really pumped for the game too. I can already imagine the-"

 

"Eren, were you listening to me?" Mikasa scolded. "There's a-" The blaring bell cut her off again, much to her displeasure. Eren jumped up happily and swept his notebook, textbook, quill, and ink into his bookbag before swinging it over his shoulder.

 

"Come on, we've got a game to win," Eren gleefully declared, turquoise eyes shining with pride and determination.

"Damn right we do," a deep, sultry voice came from behind Eren. The taller Seeker turned and looked down to meet the eyes of the shorter with a smirk.

 

"Pfft, sure."

 

"You know, keep underestimating me, Jaeger. We'll see how well that does Gryffindor," Levi chuckled to himself. Eren rolled his eyes at his slightly butchered last name again; he had a feeling he was going to _hate_ whenever Levi said his name. Levi hoisted his messenger bag further up his shoulder with a smirk and turned on his heel, Erwin and Farlan following him out.

 

"He has a point, Eren," Armin's light and airy voice came from Eren's left. The brunet turned to him with drawn brows.

 

"You seriously think he poses a threat?"

 

"Well, he is the best seeker from Durmstrang, and his uncle is Kenny Ackerman. I mean, with a reputation like that, I wouldn't brush him off so lightly," Armin's reasoned.

 

"Let's walk and talk," Mikasa interjected quickly while pulling both boys out of the classroom and into the crowded halls.

 

"How do you even know all this?" Eren questioned. "Is he suddenly your best friend?"

 

"Oh, stop that. I asked Erwin and Hanji the other night since they've been hanging out with him to try and introduce him to the norms of the Hogwarts social order."

 

"Hogwarts social-"

 

"The school norms," Armin clarified. "Like the parties Gryffindor throws after Quidditch games, or the known fact that you never go into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, or even the fact that something always goes wrong on Halloween." The trio were on the middle of the staircase when it began to move to Gryffindor tower, but they paid no attention, having grown too accustomed to the movement for it to feel magical anymore.

 

“Oh. Still, I bet he’s just making it up to make friends or something since he’s a Durmstrang brat, and no one likes them here,” Eren dismissed. The staircase snapped into place and the trio strode forward to the Fat Lady. “Sherbet lemon,” he said clearly to the painting before she could ask. The door opened to reveal the wide common room. In the back, there were two staircases, one leading to the boys’ dormitory and the other to the girls’. Sunlight streamed through the windows and adorned the red and gold walls, making them shimmer. The mantle and cherry red couches were off to their left as they waltzed in, first years practically parting at the sight of them.

 

“Armin’s right, Eren, as usual,” Mikasa finally sighed. “Don’t take him lightly; I won’t have Gryffindor losing because you didn’t play seriously for our first game of the year.”

 

“Alright, alright, sheesh. You guys are no fun,” he pouted before grabbing Armin’s arm and yanking him up the stairs to the seventh year boys’ dormitory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Reiner and Bertolt are Eren's bullies. They've been bullying him since 5th year. They sent a note in Charms basically calling Eren a disgusting slut but in different, more offensive terms.* 
> 
> Leave a comment and/or kudos? Thanks! The feedback really helps the chapters come out faster!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AYEEEEEEE!!!! this was soo fun to write! I have absolutely no idea when the next one will be out but it's going to be from Levi's perspective so yay! 
> 
> Okay, go read~

 

Once the pair was tucked into the dorm room, Armin flopped onto Eren’s bed, startling Snowball and Blackie, Mikasa’s cat. They hissed for a moment before recognizing the blond and meowed in annoyance instead.

“So, do you know how you’re going to tackle this game? Strategies?” the Ravenclaw questioned while gently reaching out to pet Snowball. She mewled and pawed at his hand before nuzzling it with her head.

“None so far,” Eren replied as he stripped out of his school uniform, shamelessly revealing a toned, golden-brown body in the process. “I’ll come up with some after the warm-up; that way I can watch how they fly and find their weaknesses.” He tossed on a black undershirt that clung to his broad chest before throwing on a slightly thicker red shirt with sleeves ending above his elbows.

“How come you’re not wearing your red sweater?” Armin questioned as he watched the Seeker change into gear.

“'Cause It’s too damn hot outside for the sweaters,” Eren replied bluntly as he bounced up and down to pull his stark white pants up. They were made of a soft material, probably cotton, but were infused with a durability charm courtesy of his mother. The Gryffindor shuddered at the memory of a game in his third year where he discovered why the magical side effects of ADHD were truly a bitch.

“Yo! Eren!” The blond on his bed huffed. “Seriously, I’ve lost count of how many times you’ve zoned out on me today.”

“Sorry,” Eren sighed, suddenly feeling tired. “I haven’t meant to, honest. Game days always set off the worst of my impulsivity.”

“I can tell.” The dormitory opened to reveal Mikasa, standing in full gear and attire. Her red and gold cape brushed her ankles and bore the embroidered icon of Gryffindor House, a lion, on the front. Shin and arm guards, along with fingerless gloves adorned her body, but Eren’s eyes were drawn to the blood red scarf sitting loosely atop her shoulders and collarbones.

“You ready to go down?” she asked, although it sounded more like an order to Eren.

“Uh, yeah, my equipment and broom are in the locker room. What time is it?”

“3:45,” Armin chimed in.

“I’m expecting some people,” the captain replied with a shrug at Eren’s drawn eyebrows and slight pout. “So come on! Aren’t you excited to-?”

“Of course I am!” Eren interrupted with a shout. “Come on, I’ve been jittery about this game since the morn. I just want to be flying right now,” he griped. He quickly darted to the cluttered trunk at the end of his bed and grabbed his Quidditch shoes. The dark brown leather molded to his feet perfectly as he crammed them in. “I was just feeling a little tired from dealing with everything today. I mean, I’m not surprised they pulled this on a game day to fuck with me, but still, it hasn’t left my mind, and-”

“Wait, hang on,” Mikasa objected, stepping through the doorway. “Who’s ‘they’ and what did they do to you?”

“Uh.” Shit. Eren cast a panicked look at Armin that reminded the blond of a cornered kitten. “…Nothing?” the brunet tried slowly.

“Don’t “nothing” me, Eren.”

“It’s not a big deal, really. I’m fine now-”

“That’s not answering my question. Tell me what happened.”

The Seeker sighed and ran a gloveless hand through his hair. “Fine, I’ll tell you, but,” he emphasized, “you can’t hunt them down and hurt them.”

“I won’t.”

“Promise me.”

“Eren,” the girl sighed.

“I’m serious.”

“Fine, I promise I won’t actively seek to hurt them.” At this, Eren let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and glanced at Armin again. The blond nodded with a small smile of encouragement, and Eren braced himself for the wrath of Mikasa.  
“In Charms today, Reiner and Bertolt were acting like shitheads as usual, and they sent me a crude note that called me a ‘manky whore’ with an animated doodle,” he bit out. Mikasa’s eyes went wide for a moment before narrowing so much that one had to wonder if she could even see at all.

“They’ll get what’s coming to them,” she vowed darkly after a minute’s pause. “But for now, I’ll honor my promise to you. Just,” she exhaled heavily, suddenly appearing more like a 27 year old rather than a 17-year-old. “Just do your best to ignore it.”

“I will, Mum,” he chuckled. “You know how my mind is; I’ll probably remember this sometime during midterms or something. Anyway, come on, I’m sure it’s past 4 now. We can’t miss the joint warm up.”

“Alright,” she agreed a bit reluctantly. “We’ll see you at the match, Armin!”

“Go Gryffindor!” he replied around the two cats, who had decided to sit upon the blond’s face. The two players laughed at the sight and quickly departed for the pitch. As they made their way through the common room, shouts and cheers wishing them good luck plastered a grin on Eren’s face.

They were definitely going to win this match.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Eren couldn't wipe the slightly cocky smile from his face while he quickly adjusted his over-the-knee shin guards and elbow length gloves in the locker room. Well, tent, really. Everyone called it a room but from the outside, it seemed like an average, slightly run down and outdated tent. Inside was entirely different, thanks to an enlargement charm that expanded it to the size of a small classroom. There were two rows of crimson lockers with the names of each player engraved in gold on each door. They were relatively small lockers, but could produce an endless amount of anything from tampons to ace bandages to a bag of crisps should a player need it. Across from the lockers was a white wall with pegs attached for holding the team's brooms. Eren closed his locker firmly and grabbed the trusty Firebolt off its pegs. It purred in his grasp, and the Seeker sighed happily.

The rest of the team bustled about the room, readjusting their gear or pacing to calm their pregame nerves, except Mikasa, who was turned toward the chalkboard with their plays drawn out. Eren walked over to the other captain and stared at the board. “We should go over the strategy again, I think,” Mikasa decided as she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and stroked her Beater’s bat absentmindedly.

“No, they’re good,” Eren countered. “Telling them again will psych everyone out, except Jean and Ymir. Right now, I think a motivational speech or something should do the trick.”

“That’s smart…” the Captain trailed off. “Yeah, that’s a good idea; I’ll have you do it.” She turned to face Eren with blazing eyes. Despite her seriousness, he couldn't help but chuckle softly though at the good luck scarf currently draped on her shoulders and covering her mouth. “Remember, I want you tracking Levi. Every move he makes, you do the same. The most important part is stealth because-“

“He’s not stupid, and he’ll be able to tell what I'm doing if I’m too obvious,” the Seeker nodded vigorously while reciting his plays. He wasn’t quite sure how he would do this discreetly; stealth was more Sasha and Connie’s specialty, but he merely pushed his jumbled thoughts to the back of his head. “GRYFFINDOR FRONT AND CENTER!” he suddenly barked, gathering the team. “This is it guys; first game of the season. I don’t want to see any slacking, or we’re all flying laps on Monday, but that’s beside the point. This game, right here and now,” Eren punctuated with a jab of his broom. “This is it; the start of the end for me… for Mikasa… for Jean. This is our last year; let’s start it off right with a kickass win against Slytherin. I know Levi sounds like the most intimidating person since he’s the supposed best, but don’t let that get to you. He’s just another quidditch player, even if he’s pretty damn good at it. Show him- no, show all of Slytherin- hell, show the whole damn school why we’re proud to be Gryffindor House and why we’re going to stay the House Cup Champions! Now let’s get out there and kick some serious ass!” Eren thrust his broom up into the air and was followed by the proud cheers of his teammates.

Jean stuck his hand out to the center of the group of players and waited for the other 6 hands to join his own. ”Gryffindor,” they all chanted before throwing their hands up and shouting “FIGHT!” With energy vibrating through their bones, each Gryffindor mounted their brooms and waited to take off. Eren ran a hand through his hair roughly, even pulling some strands out as he tried to ground himself. His mind was still racing from thought to thought and adrenaline pumped through his blood as he fell in front of their formation with Mikasa and quickly pushed off the ground, leading the team out through the tent’s flaps and into the air.

Eren felt the wind yank and rip at his uniform as his Firebolt raced further into the sky. The wind whistling in his ears roared louder than the screams of the spectators. As he flew, Eren was enveloped in blissful emptiness. He had one goal and nothing would distract him from it. He could do this; he worked his ass off the last 4 years to become the co-captain, and damn it, he was the most skilled seeker in the school. A beaming smile overtook the brunet's features; one that radiated happiness and passion. He chanced a look at the audience while he flew to his position on the field for the start of the match. His eyes were drawn to a blob of golden yellow hair among a sea of red and gold banners: Armin, no doubt.

 _“And Gryffindor flies out onto the field with this year’s captain and beater, Mikasa Ackerman, number 10, out first in the lead,”_ Gunther’s voice echoed throughout the pitch. _“Behind her is this year’s co-captain, seeker, and a royal pain in the arse- sorry Nanaba- Eren Jaeger, number 24. Following the bastard- last one, I promise, Professor- is Jean Kirschtein, number 7,_ keeper _. Behind him is Isabel Magnolia, beater, and number 16. The chasers, number 26, Sasha Blouse, in 2, Connie Springer, and in 69, Ymir! Wait a moment, sorry, I read the number wrong; I meant 17 for Ymir.”_ Eren couldn’t help but laugh as he watched Gunther try to keep his wand away from Professor Nanaba’s demanding hand. “Alright, alright, I’ll censor myself a bit,” the commentator agreed with a chuckle.

 _“Anyway, here comes the challengers, Slytherin!”_ A deafening roar rose from the crowd as Slytherin flew out onto the pitch. Green capes with silver numbers and names on the back rippled in the wind as the players flew near the stands in a triangle formation, with their headstrong captain leading them. She had white hair, large, circular glasses strapped to her head, and a thin eyebrows drawn taught with pursed lips. _“Leading them, the fearless Rico_ Brezenska _, number 1, captain, and chaser. Behind her, Annie Leonhardt, number 22,_ keeper _.”_ Eren watched intently as Annie flew, tufts of her golden side bangs escaping the keeper’s helmet blowing in front of electric blue eyes. She radiated beauty but her eyes had an air of danger to them, an air that Eren liked. Unfortunately, Gunther's next comment drew him out of his revere and back to the match. _“And next to Annie, is the newest addition to Slytherin’s team and to our school. From Durmstrang and self-proclaimed to be the best Seeker at Hogwarts, number 25, Levi Ackerman!”_

Eren trained his eyes on Levi the moment he was called and began analyzing his every movement. A frown marred his smile as he recognized the broom under Levi: a Firebolt. A cheer went up for the other Seeker, but not nearly as loud as Eren’s, nor the cheer for Slytherin as a whole. Either way, Levi did not appear to be fazed. His eyes were narrowed and eyebrows neatly scrunched together. With his mouth seemingly stuck in a frown, he gave the impression of being annoyed, but as he grew closer, Eren stared hard into the other’s blue-grey eyes. There was definitely an emotion there, but it wasn’t annoyance. Maybe excitement? It was something with a hint of desperation, but Eren couldn’t place it.

 _“As for the beaters, the dangerous duo numbers 8 and 9, Reiner Braun and Oluo Bozado. Coming in behind them, the dexterous duo- oi! I heard that Eld! My alliteration is the shite-pardon_ me _Professor. The dexterous duo numbers 4 and 20, Petra Ral and Farlan Church. Now that everyone’s been accounted for, let’s talk about today’s anticipated game. As_ first _game of the year, this game will potentially set the tone for the year’s season; a touching season for our seventh-years who will be dearly missed. But more importantly, this is a game to show who has_ skill _and who lacks. I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking this, this is the game that will prove which house has the best seeker: Levi or Eren…”_

While Gunther prattled on, Eren blocked the speculation out. This match was just like every other for him: watch the other seeker, keep a third eye out for the snitch, and then catch it- done! It would be over before he knew it, and then he’d be back in the common room sipping on some smuggled butterbeer. Connie and Sasha were the secret suppliers but no one could figure out how they snuck it in the castle. Although if anyone had a way, those pranksters would know the ins and outs of the grounds. Eren himself only knew own or two secret passageways but-

Movement drew Eren out of his derailing thoughts to watch Professor Zeke set down the crate containing the balls. He looked up at all the players and touched his wand to his throat, amplifying his voice. “I want a clean game today, understood?” Each player nodded and readied themselves for the Quaffle toss. He opened the crate with a well-aimed kick and immediately, the two bludgers flew out, followed by the golden snitch. The little shining demon circled around Eren’s head once with a high pitched whiz and darted off to Levi- gracefully dancing around his black locks as well before speeding off into the sky. Eren snapped his eyes back to Levi once the snitch was out and smirked: this was it- gametime.

_“The Quaffle’s released…and the game begins!”_

Immediately, Levi zipped up, eyes locked above him. Eren quickly tilted his broom upwards and followed the Slytherin. Levi’s figure became larger and larger as Eren spurred his broom faster. He made sure to trail just to the right of Levi’s bushy broom end and risked a glare at the other seeker. Levi’s face was still calm and collected, like he didn’t just make a mad dash for the snitch at the start of the game. Turning turquoise eyes forward again, Eren quickly scanned the air for any sight of movement. There was none, with the exception of his own chocolate locks snapping about quickly, almost like an aggressive dance. The air was getting hotter around them and Eren cursed as his sweaty hand slipped off the broom shaft. He swerved sharply to his left but pushed forward, quickly returning to his place. The Gryffindor furrowed his brow in budding frustration; what the hell was Levi doing if the snitch wasn’t even near them? He contemplated backing off his pursuit, but Mikasa’s orders rang through his mind again: “every move he makes, you do the same.” But Levi still wasn’t slowing down, so Eren just sighed angrily and pushed forward.

The brunet drew his eyebrows tighter. This was getting ridiculous. Eren had chased this supposed seeker who wasn't even looking for the snitch until his bangs where dripping with sweat but the Slytherin had yet to even slow. Almost as if he read his thoughts, Levi abruptly halted flying. Eren gasped and pulled up on his handle while planting his feet hard on the iron frame, slowing to a stop about a meter after Levi. With a huff, Eren turned back to face the Slytherin and narrowed his eyes. “What in the blazes are you doing?”

“I’m still trying to get accustomed to flying here, so if you don’t mind, I’d appreciate if you’d stop following me,” Levi replied as if he’d expected Eren’s question. The brunet opened his mouth with a colorful retort on the tip of his tongue but froze when Mikasa’s voice drifted through his head again: “you need to be stealthy!” This was a perfect opportunity to fool the other seeker.

“ _Lass mich in Ruh_ ,” Eren grumbled, mindlessly slipping into his first language, and angled his broom down before spurring it onward, back towards the pitch. Thankfully, the wind pushed his sweat-slicked hair back as he clenched his fingers tighter around the hard, wooden shaft of his broom and squinted to protect his eyes from the wind. Butterflies fluttered about his stomach as the wind ripped at Eren’s uniform. He was going to have to disobey Mikasa’s orders for a little bit if he was going to get anywhere with tailing Levi. The familiar sound of a quidditch match met assaulted Eren's ears as he broke through the clouds into the thick of the game. Immediately, he swerved to avoid a bludger speeding his direction and collided with Petra, who dropped the Quaffle she had been carrying.

“Thanks, Eren!” Sasha shouted from below him as she caught the Quaffle and maneuvered her Nimbus 2001 back to Slytherin’s hoops. Momentarily distracted, Eren watched as Sasha sped around Rico's prying hands and ducked under a bludger Isabel aimed for Farlan’s approaching figure. Her russet hair blew wildly in the air as she made a beeline for the third hoop. With an audible grunt, Sasha threw the ball towards the hoop but smiled when Annie sped down to block it. Instead of being intercepted by the keeper, Isabel flew in and rammed the speeding ball away from the third hoop, towards Mikasa, with the bristles of her Cleansweep. The captain swung at the Quaffle with her bat and sent it through the highest hoop. Before the ball flew through the hoop, Annie stretched her hand out to block it, but only succeeded in grazing the edge with her fingers. Eren cringed as she jerked that same hand back only a second later and cradled her fingers with a curse.

_“Ten points for Gryffindor, and it looks like Leonhardt has suffered a finger injury!” Gunther’s disembodied voice informed the rowdy crowd. “This could potentially give Gryffindor the needed advantage of a downed keeper.”_

“Eren!” a loud, demanding voice boomed. The brunet locked eyes with his angry Captain but stayed hovering above the racing Chasers. Mikasa flew to a stop and panted slightly as she glared at him. “Have you gone mad? You’re going to cock up this entire match!”

“Levi was just leading me on,” Eren explained. “I’ve still been watching him, but following him isn’t going to work.”

“Blast,” Mikasa cursed. “Fine, just do whatever you think is right.” As quickly as she came, Mikasa zipped off again. Eren tilted to the left and moved his broom with him. He began to circle the pitch as he usually did when searching for the snitch and kept his eyes wide open for any flash of gold. A flash of green caught his eye and Eren couldn't help but grin mischievously at the appearance of the other seeker; it seemed Levi had the same idea. They locked eyes briefly and circled each other; green across from red as they each made their way around the pitch. It almost made Eren think of a deadly dance, tiptoeing the around each other yet ready to strike at any moment.

 _“It seems like all players are now back within seeing range now that Levi’s come back down. Ral has the Quaffle. She's driving it right down_ center _for a kill._ OH _BUT WAIT SHE'S THROWING TO THE LOW HOOP! I don't think that Gryffindor will be able to block- KIRSTEIN CAUGHT THE QUAFFLE! And holy shite! He's thrown it to Blouse who was lingering behind wide open! She's racing down the field and no one can touch her! She’s going in again for a score! She’s going_ for _the low hoop again but Leonhardt has yet to move! Hold on, she is now, but it’s too late! Gryffindor scores another 10 points and makes the score Slytherin 0, Gryffindor 20!”_ Eren laughed at the score announcement; it seemed like Jean was good for something on the team after all. He looked over towards Jean to send a thumbs-up but halted when a flash of gold caught his eye. It darted over towards the group of Slytherin chasers, and Eren didn’t hesitate to follow. He shot off like a rocket after the snitch, pushing his Firebolt on like it was brand new. He weaved his way past Connie and Farlan, and just over Rico’s head without taking his eyes off the snitch. The golden nightmare took off again for the other end of the field, but Eren stayed close and stretched out his left arm as he got closer and closer, like a predator trailing its prey, waiting for the perfect moment to strike and kill…

Then, a bolt of pain crashed into him. Eren heard the gasp of the audience as he processed the searing heat coming from the left of his body, but he couldn’t tell exactly where yet since he had more pressing matters, to deal with like the fact that he was dangling in the air while clutching on to his broom with one hand. The Firebolt sagged slightly as it started to lean down towards him, and the brunet swore. Eren weakly tried to lift his left hand to the broom to help even out his weight but searing pain shot down his arms when he simply tried to move a finger. “Agh, shite.”

_“And in a startling turn of events, Jaeger is injured with what seems to be a broken shoulder, perhaps, by a bludger beaten his way by Braun; a real foul git if you ask me- sorry Professor, slip of the tongue. Now Slytherin is partially down a keeper and Gryffindor a seeker! And it seems like the advantage is in Slytherin’s favor! Levi Ackerman has suddenly darted off from his watcher’s nest towards the ground, I think he’s gone after the snitch!”_

"Damn it," Eren cursed. He couldn't let Levi catch the snitch and win the game, at least not when he could still fly. Eren grit his teeth and tried to raise his arm again. The feeling of blistering heat raced through him before switching to a wave of ice sweeping over him. He let out another swear but kept moving and clamped his moist left hand onto the broomstick. His arm was radiating pain, but Eren did his best not to dwell on it. Instead, he began to swing his body back and forth, giving himself momentum to make the leap back onto his Firebolt. As he swung, he couldn't help but watch Levi race down with his hand outstretched, ready to snag Slytherin's victory. "Oh, hell no," the stubborn Gryffindor muttered to himself. With one final swing, Eren threw his right leg up and managed to catch the edge of his broom stand. He pulled himself up and clambered hastily onto the broom, speeding off before he was even properly situated.

Eren left his left arm to dangle in the wind and drove the Firebolt harder with his right hand, following Levi into his steep dive. The pain was throbbing through his body but he could care less; the snitch was the only thing of importance. Levi was speeding along, and Eren could see the space between the Slytherin's hand and the golden ball lessen, but that only pushed him further. The brunet never removed his eyes from the winged demon, though he began to notice that Levi's form was getting closer and closer. Eren pushed his Firebolt to the point that he could feel his cheeks start to ripple - 150 mph; he had to catch up. But it seemed like determination wouldn't stop the shrinking gap from Levi's hand and the snitch.

"Fuck it," Eren murmured to himself. He tilted his broomstick down steeper and shot forward, racing directly underneath Levi. He stretched his right arm out, effectively steering with his muscles thighs, and brushed his fingertips against the cold metal of the snitch. Eren snapped his hand back to the broom for just a moment to carefully navigate himself away from Levi's knees - a move Levi anticipated. The Slytherin smirked to himself before he suddenly snapped his own broomstick down, cutting off Eren's access, and back up quickly. As Levi flew up again, coming out of the steep dive merely a meter from the ground, he dragged his left arm to his side and snatched the snitch from Eren's desperate fingertips.

The whistle blew, sounding the end of the game, and Levi slowed his broom down to be mobbed by his ecstatic teammates. Meanwhile, Eren cursed and brought his feet up to press down on the tail of his broom while pulling up sharply on the shaft. The Firebolt narrowly avoided colliding with the ground and brought its rider to relative safety, hovering slowly two meters above the grass. Eren, however, let go of the broomstick and let himself fall onto the ground with a soft thud. The Gryffindor seeker splayed out on the ground with his eyes closed, letting exhaustion, embarrassment, and disappointment take over and turn his stomach inside out. He had been utterly _humiliated_ , all by the fucking new guy.

By Levi.

Seething anger burned through Eren with a vengeance and teal eyes flashed open. He tried to sit up but found himself held down by a strong hand on his good shoulder. Tracing the hand to its arm and head with his eyes, he made out Jean, sporting a solemn expression.

"Not here," he simply said.

Eren grit his teeth but reluctantly agreed while Jean unclasped the snap keeping his helmet on and ripped it off his head. "I think Reiner broke my arm," he muttered. "I need to go to the infirmary wing."

"Yeah, I figured. Nice playing though," Jean replied with a sigh. He reached for Eren's right hand and pulled his friend to his feet. "Mikasa called for a team meeting in the locker room, so come on."

"Shite, she's going to be pissed with me," Eren groaned. "Where's my broom?"

"I have it," Jean replied, steering Eren to the Gryffindor tent.

"Oi, Jaeger!" Eren halted at the familiar, incorrect drawl of his last name and reluctantly turned around. Levi, in all his Slytherin glory, was briskly crossing the grass on his broomstick. Eren patiently stood and watched his opponent approach. With grace that reminded him of Snowball, Levi slid off his broom and flashed a rare grin.

It looked demonic.

“What do you want? A congratulations? A thumbs-up? ‘Cause if that’s what you’re looking for, you can fuck off right now,” the Gryffindor grumbled.

“No, I didn’t come for that,” Levi chuckled. “I came to say you played well. Almost had me at the end there, actually.” Before Eren knew what he was doing, he had moved towards the other seeker and was bent down to stare into the other’s metallic eyes.

“Alright, you prick, listen here. I’m only saying this once. You think I don’t know what you’re doing, but you’re a shitty liar. I know I lost, I know there were other moves I could’ve and should’ve done, so you can take your fake-ass modesty,” Eren began to shove his finger into the other’s chest as he accentuated his points. “And shove it right back up your arse.” Blazing teal eyes met now hostile blue-grey and the shorter took a single deep breath before slapping Eren’s finger away from him.

“Get the _fuck_ out of my face before I give you a real reason to go to the infirmary,” Levi seethed.

Instead of following his advice, Eren bent close enough to brush noses with the Slytherin. “Make me, _weichei_ _.”_

“Eren,” Jean warned from behind the two.

“Fuck off, Jaeger. You think you’re such hot shit, huh?” Levi spat. “I eat guys like you for breakfast; if you’re trying to intimate anyone, the most you’ll scare is a bloody owl. I was going to try and resolve this without fighting, but I see that the only way to get through that thick skull of yours is to keep beating your ass. It’s a relatively easy task, mind you.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“ _Eren_.” Jean cautioned again, this time clamping a firm hand on the brunet’s good shoulder and pulling him back slightly.

“Damn right it is,” Levi agreed. “Although it won’t be a challenge for me.”

“You _bellend_ (dick).” Eren opened his mouth to say more but stopped at the jarring bolt of hot pain coming from his jostled shoulder.

“Come on, Eren, we have to get you patched up before your arm stays like that for too long,” Jean pointed out, gently steering the seeker away.

Eren didn’t mind though. In his mind, the line was already drawn. Forget about playful banter; this was personal. This new guy, this bastard from Durmstrang, just waltzed into Eren’s life and turned it upside down in a matter of days. This was no longer just a rivalry: this was a war. And if it was a war Levi wanted, it was a war he would get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations: 
> 
> "Lass mich in Ruh"- give me some rest (I took this to mean like give me a break)  
> "Weichei"- wimp/wuss/coward


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a few translations you'll need to know:  
> -"Skatten min": Norwegian term of endearment for loved ones meaning My Treasure  
> -"Komme"- Norwegian for come  
> Towards the end of the chapter, an entire conversation is in Norwegian but I don't want to translate all of that so it's just written in English in italics.  
> Also, watch out for some underage drinking. Even though this takes place in Britain, the legal age is 18 and they're all 16/17. UN-BETAED! My awesome beta is away currently and probably for the next few updates. Tell me if there are any atrocious mistakes.
> 
> And a short heads up, I'm going to try a new approach to updates in general without summaries or long author notes :)

             Levi stood in Eren’s angry wake with pursed lips and a clenched fist. What was the kid’s problem? He played a fair game and he congratulated him on it. Isn’t that the Hogwarts’ custom in Quidditch? The Slytherin merely sighed and rolled his eyes; if this school was going to be like Durmstrang, then Levi would treat them like such. But then again, not everyone was too bad.

            “Hey, Levi!” A familiar voice called to him.

            “Speak of the devil,” Levi muttered aloud. Slightly damp, dark sandy locks greeted him first, much to his obvious distaste, before gunmetal eyes rested on soft grey. “Please tell me you’re going to drag me off to somewhere I actually like.”

            “Of course not,” the Chaser replied with a smirk. “There’s always a post-game meeting in the locker room after a match so Rico told me to drag your arse back to the tent.” Farlon eyed the other’s broom before snatching it from Levi’s grasp. The seeker let out an unsuspecting yelp and immediately reached out to grab it back.

            “ _Hei_! Give it back!” Levi shouted angrily. Farlon grinned and raised the Firebolt over his head before he began to back-peddle towards the Slytherin tent.

            “You’ll get it back once you’re movin’. Also, what’s with your broom?”

            “Not a damn thing!” the seeker hissed again as he ran faster to reach his broomstick. Farlon laughed again before he turned and ducked into the tent, Levi right on his heels. The moment the Seeker bust through the flaps, he froze as he was mobbed by his teammates.

            “Levi, that was amazing!” Petra gushed as she held onto him tightly. “I’ve never seen a game end like that!”

            “Nice one Levi,” Reiner laughed while slapping the Seeker hard on the back. Levi could not help the grunt that managed to escape his lips nor the small smile that was growing. “You’re good. Good enough that there’s actually someone able to challenge Jaeger on Gryffindor.”

            “Reiner’s right,” Annie cut in from her spot on the bench. “Eren is good but you’re better, and that in itself is an accomplishment.”  

            “Wow, thanks, guys,” Levi replied somewhat genuinely. “I can’t help but feel like these are all backhanded compliments though if you keep comparing me to Eren.” The team let a hearty laughter that filled the tent with a sense of familiarity and comfort.

            “Alright, alright,” Rico finally spoke. She stood in front of the team near the chalkboard with their plays still drawn on it. “Everyone sit down and shut up.” Levi plopped himself down on the bench next to Annie and noticed she still was cradling her hand. He glanced at her face but her features were still apathetic as per usual.

            “We played like we just spent the last two weeks sunbathing rather than practicing,” the Captain started. “I’m disappointed. Petra, you dropped the Quaffle just by being flown into and you’re the second best chaser we have.” The auburn haired girl ducked her head in shame as Rico continued to berate her. “That was unacceptable. Annie, I know you were injured trying to prevent that goal but you need to learn to play through the pain. Look at Jaeger, he had at the least a dislocated shoulder and still almost caught the snitch. Speaking of him, Reiner you’re real fucking lucky Professor Zeke didn’t call that bludger shot; I know you aimed that at Jaeger.”

            Reiner chuckled quietly before piping up. “Slip of the wrist, sorry.”

            “Get your wrist fixed then,” Rico answered coldly. “As for everyone else, you all played well; keep improving. Finally, Levi. You proved yourself this game of being a very capable and skilled Seeker. I was very impressed. To answer your earlier complaint, Eren really is the best seeker at this school. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff can’t touch him with speed and only Ravenclaw has the skill to be just underneath him. There is no match that he plays easily, especially opening match, and you beat him. Good job,” Rico offered again with a small smile. “Practice Monday! Our next game is against Ravenclaw in two weeks. Alright, I’m done so everyone great the hell out.”

            The team dispersed to the lockers noisily as Rico went into the captain’s office but Levi opted to change on the bench. He quickly took off his shoes, shin guards, and gloves and placed them beside him, organized neatly. He considered taking the uniform cape off as well but ultimately decided to leave it on. Later tonight, he would throw it in the wash so it could hang dry overnight.  

            “Fuck,” a quiet voice muttered next to Levi, bringing him out of his thoughts. The seeker turned and eyed Annie again.

            “Do you need to go to the hospital wing?” he finally asked. Annie raised an eyebrow and raked her eyes up and down Levi’s blank expression. “It’s your finger, right?”

            “It’s just a sprain; I could heal it myself,” she protested lightly. “But I was going to go anyway.”  

            “Hey Annie,” a familiar deep voice called. The keeper did not bother to look up as she answered him.

            “What do you want, Reiner?”

            “To ask you…how you died,” he quoted seriously before bursting into laughter.

            “Fuck off, Reiner. I’m not Moaning Myrtle.”

            “I’m only joking,” the brute snorted. “I was going to ask if you wanted me to take you to the hospital wing for your hand.”

            “No,” she replied, sounding fairly cross. Reiner shrugged in nonchalance and walked off to the edge of the tent.

            “See you at the afterparty!” he shouted as farewell with a casual flick of his wrist. The keeper did not bother to reply, instead opting to return her equipment to her locker.  Levi gathered his own equipment and walked back to his locker. So far, it was void of anything but his quidditch gear and, to his delight, free of dust. He supposed that a few decorations would look nice but decided to add them later. Levi swung his locker shut and drew out his wand from within the right side pocket of his uniform. “ _Colloportus,”_ he murmured and gave a short nod when he heard the small bolt slide into place.

            “Hey, Levi,” Farlon’s warm voice called out. The raven turned to meet his friend who stumbled over. “Ready to head out?”

            “Yeah. Let me just grab my broom,” Levi grunted as he traversed across the room towards his Firebolt.

            “You know you can leave it here,” Farlon pointed out with a graceless snort.  The shorter male simply smirked and snagged the broomstick from the bench before he trekked to where the grinning idiot leaned against the tent flap.

            “I don’t like leaving my broom where I can’t see it,” Levi sighed as the pair began to walk back on the edge of the field. A majority of the crowd had made their way to the field and filled the air with the noise of their chatter. “Anyway, where are you leading me, you crazy leprechaun.”

            “Okay first, if anyone is a leprechaun between us, it’s you. Secondly, I’m ignoring that jab at my heritage, Mr. Dark Elf.”

            “Har har,” Levi dryly laughed. “A Norse mythology reference. You’re so clever.”

            “And to actually answer your question,” Farlon ranted while ignoring Levi’s interruption, “I just wanted to leave the tent. Rico’s post-game chat was hardly friendly; the bloody woman’s got a stick up her arse, I tell you.”

            Levi allowed a short bark of laughter and scanned the crowds while he passed. “And for good reason. Without a strong captain, this team is shite.”

            “Nah, we’re only rusty since it’s the beginning of the year. She acts as if every match we play goes arseways though.”

            “Arseways? The fuck does that even mean?”

            “You know something that goes wrong or bad. Have you never talked to an Irish person?” The chaser joked. “Who are you looking for, may I ask?”

            “I’m looking for my mum. She told me she was coming to this match,” Levi answered, ignoring the first question with ease. He scanned the crowd again once more before his eyes fell on familiar black hair. “Ah, I found her. You should come over and-“Levi glanced over again to meet Farlon’s eyes only to be met with the back of a Hufflepuff. He furrowed his brows and began to look through the crowd again, this time for sandy hair. He spotted the bloody coward practically sprinting towards the pathway back to the castle, already across the pitch. “OI! FARLON!”

            “SORRY! I DON’T DO MEET THE PARENTS!” the chaser shouted back, turning his head to flash a meagerly apologetic smile. 

            “Fucking unbelievable,” Levi muttered as he shook his head in fond disapproval. He gripped his broomstick tighter in hand before he continued to walk towards the silky, inky strands of hair bouncing about. Levi could not have prevented the small smile from gracing his features even if he tried as his eyes fell upon his mum. Her dark charcoal eyes were brightly lit with energy despite their narrowness, similar to his own, as she gestured with her hands. Contrast to himself, Levi’s mum, Kuchel, had no dark almost bruise-like bags lining her eyes. Her skin was a pale alabaster that gleamed nearly pearl white in the sun’s golden rays. It was times these that Levi was really glad he was essentially a replica of his mother. Seeing any bit of the other fucker’s face in his reflection would have had him brewing Polyjuice Potion in his bathroom every day.  

            The Slytherin quickly shook his head to clear the steadily negative thoughts and, for the first time, noticed the other witch his mother was speaking to. She wore scarlet robes that were embroidered with gold threads and ended at her mid-calf, revealing knee-high, lace-up, black boots. Her face was light brown, nearly caramel color and bore large, fiery amber eyes. Dark hair nearly the same shade of a chocolate frog framed her face with bouncy curls tied loosely together in a half-arsed attempt of a ponytail and was tossed carelessly over her right shoulder. She seemed quite familiar like he had just seen those eyes somewhere…

            Neither woman had regarded his presence yet so Levi opted to stand some little ways off, giving them space to talk. He eyed the grass below him, wanting to sit but not trusting the creatures thriving underneath the surface of the various grass blades. He anxiously watched the ground again for any movements and finding none, gently placed his broom down. The silence he found himself in was comfortable but sooner than he anticipated, Levi found himself becoming increasingly bored. He drew his wand from his cape pocket once more but instead of performing magic, he merely twirled it between his fingers. He was pretty decent at it, twisting and flipping the wooden stick as if it were a baton.

            His wand was thin and long, measuring at nearly 14 inches, made of birch, and was distinctly different from others that he saw. His wand was pale white with a reddish tinge and a dragonheart string for its core. He never found it to be particularly interesting, considering that nearly everyone at Durmstrang had birch wood wands, but when Farlon first saw it, he was mesmerized for at least three days. Apparently, the wandmaker here did not use birch often. The Slytherin could not fathom why but he did not dwell on it for too long; he was not interested in the technicalities of wand making.

            “ _Skatten min!”_ Levi jumped at the sudden call and dropped his wand. He crouched to pick it up quickly before turning back to his mother’s beaming face. “ _Komme,”_ she ordered while waving her hand rapidly to beckon him. Levi quietly walked forward and embraced his mother briefly as she introduced the other witch in their company. “Yes, this is my Levi. He’s the one I’ve been telling you about.”

            “Oh! He’s nearly your replica, Kuchel,” the brunette gasped. “Hello Levi,” the witch greeted and extended a small hand politely. “I’m Carla, Eren’s mother.” The Slytherin’s eyes widened minutely as he processed what Carla had just uttered.

            “Oh, wow; that’s funny,” Levi ineloquently snorted before he grasped her hand in a firm handshake. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Jaeger.”

            “And you’re so polite! Eren could really learn a lot from you,” Carla chuckled. “Your mum tells me that you’re a great student and from what I’ve seen in today’s match, you are a fantastic seeker.”

            Levi could feel his cheeks grow warm but only a smile graced his face. “Thank you, I always try my best. As for Eren, well…I don’t think he particularly cares for my company right now.” At this, both Kuchel and Carla laughed.

            “That sounds like classic Eren,” Carla sighed in light exasperation. “Ah, well it was very nice to meet you both. Keep in touch, Kuchel, and I’ll see you around. I have to meet with Eren and Mikasa before I leave.” Carla waved farewell as she strode towards the worn pathway through trampled grass leading to the castle.  

            “ _Hvor er min lille Levi?” (How is my little Levi?)_ Kuchel asked, slipping into Norwegian.

            “ _Jeg har det bra, (I am well.)”_ Levi answered, he too in his first language. “ _This place is…”_

 _“It’s…”_ Kuchel prompted. _“Oh no, please don’t tell me you don’t like it.”_

 _“No, no,”_ Levi hastily reassured. _“No, I like it here. It’s just…very…different. For instance, here, everyone is clingy and in each other’s business. It’s weird,”_ Levi sighed, resigning his admittingly weak description.

            “ _It’s a different culture and social atmosphere, dear,”_ Kuchel replied. _“What about your friends? You wrote me about Farlon, Erwin, and um…”_

_“Hanji,” Levi smirked._

_“Yes! Hanji. Tell me about them as we walk.”_ Levi walked forward and nicked his broom from the grass, vigorously shaking it to dismount any stubborn bugs. Kuchel followed closely behind, smiling as a gentle breeze ruffled her robes.

            “ _Well, Farlon is an overgrown baby. He practically begged me to leave the locker room with him and ran faster than I could curse him when I asked him to come meet you.”_ Kuchel raised a hand to her mouth to try and muffle her laughs but Levi could still hear them. Instead of mentioning it, the seeker just smiled and started down the trampled pathway. “ _Overall, though, he’s not a bad person. He really helped me out and get acquainted with the school norms and shit.”_

 _“Levi, watch your language,”_ the older of the pair scolded sharply. “ _I blame my brother for this.”_

 _“Yeah, you’re not wrong there,”_ Levi agreed with a laugh. “ _Sorry, I’ll try to censor myself. Erwin and Hanji are both Ravenclaws and they are both complete nutters. Especially Hanji. Do you remember that one mental kid from the neighborhood, Eskel?”_ He glanced over for a confirmation before plowing on. _“Yeah well, she makes him seem like Nicholas Flamel. She’s absolutely demented but I guess I must be too since I don’t mind her company. Every now and then she says something of good use and doesn’t seem to sleep either. The mad woman smuggled in Floo Powder and lent me some so that we can talk whenever I can’t sleep and she’s awake. I swear the system has to be fuc- I mean, messed up if they let her be Head Girl.”_

 _“While I’m glad that you’ve found an insomniac friend, you should be trying to sleep,”_ Kuchel chided gently and slapped the back of Levi’s head, causing the shorter to stumble slightly.

            “ _Ugh, that never happens anyway. I’d rather spend my time being productive and studying instead of just lying in bed for hours.”_ The pair came to the grand double doors that opened to reveal the entrance hall. Light from the setting sun streamed in from higher windows, effectively bathing the hall in an orange tinge.

            “ _Oh my goodness!”_ Kuchel gasped. She narrowed her eyes to a glare and turned to her son, standing casually next to her, as if the sight was mediocre. “ _And none of this could be put in a letter, I suppose? It’s been like pulling teeth just to get you to describe this place.”_

 _“I gave a good enough description,”_ Levi protested. _“It’s not bad.”_ The witch sighed and shook her head in clear vexation as she watched her son move forward. _“Come on, I’ll show you to the library and stuff. So far, it’s my favorite place in the castle.”_

 _“Oh Levi,”_ Kuchel began softly, remaining in place. “ _I don’t think I’ll have time. I’ve already been gone longer than I anticipated.”_

Levi carefully constructed his features to his usual blankness before speaking. “ _You’re leaving?”_

 _“I have to. Kenny was having a bad day when I left so I told him I’d come back earlier,”_ his mother explained. _“You know how he gets now. Since the accident-“_

 _“I know, he can’t be alone for more than a few hours,”_ Levi dismissed with a wave. _“It’s alright, I’ll tell you more in my next letter. Just remind me.”_ Kuchel nodded enthusiastically and before Levi could argue, engulfed her son in a tight hug.

            “ _I love you, Levi. Take care of yourself,”_ she whispered into his ear and placed a quick kiss on his temple. Levi reluctantly wrapped his arms around her shoulders and squeezed hard for a moment.

            “ _I love you too, Mum and I promise I will,”_ he agreed with a warning pat to her back; the hug has gone on long enough. Kuchel’s light laughter filled his ears for a moment before she disapparated with a soft _pop!_ Levi felt the regular flutters of loneliness demanding to make themselves known, a feeling that occurred after each time his mother visited him. And as much as it pained him, he would have to go surround himself with friends for the next few hours.

            Which meant attending that forsaken afterparty he was trying to ignore.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

            So maybe the afterparty wasn’t as bad as Levi thought it would be. And by not as bad, Levi realized that the “party” was mainly the team members and other seventh years attempting to get drunk off their arses while the fifth years watched and tried to sneak a sip of the alcohol only to fail and be scolded by Rico each time. There was an abundance of food and candy on various places in the cold cavern of a common room. Levi found himself sitting alone on a soft couch next to the fireplace as he drank water and read a book and occasionally watched Reiner try to chug some frothy looking drink as his peers cheered him on.

            His sober evening in solitude came to a halt however when Farlon, Oulo, and Petra all decided to plop down next to him. Before the chaser could speak, Levi cut him off. “Aren’t they going to get in trouble for being shitfaced tomorrow?”

            “Nah,” Farlon answered with a grin before taking a swig of the same frothy drink. “Our predecessors left us spells and potions to use so we don’t look as blootered as we are. It’s tradition to add to it and pass the secrets on when you graduate.”

            “The hell does ‘blootered’ mean?”

            “It means drunk,” Petra helpfully supplied before she also took a long sip of that frothy drink everyone seemed to have _._ “Speaking of, Levi, where’s your drink?”

            “I didn’t get one. I’m not a fan of getting drunk.”

            “No shit, that’s why you’re reading when everyone else is partying,” Oulo snorted and stood shakily. He began to tug on the older girl’s hand, a meager attempt at moving her. “Petra, come with me for another drink. I wanna get another drink,” the sixth year slurred.

            “Grab a butterbeer for Levi too, would you?” Farlon added. “A normal one.” The other chaser nodded and allowed herself to be pulled away by the impatient beater.

            “So the numskull actually grows a pair when he’s drunk,” Levi noted as he tucked his bookmark in and closed his book. “I’ll remember that when he sobers up and cowers when I look at him.” Farlon didn’t bother to stifle a loud bark of laughter to Levi’s remark.

            “But he had a point,” the other managed. “You’re just reading here in the midst of the first post-match party!”

            “Look, no one bothered to notice me before I caught a snitch for them. I don’t need anyone flocking over me like we’re suddenly comrades in arms,” Levi stubbornly replied and crossed his arms.

            “Alright, fair enough. But don’t shield yourself from them,” Farlon offered, sounding older than his years. “Look, in Slytherin, it’s custom that you have to prove yourself before the house formally accepts you. You did that by winning the match.  Now, yeah there’s a few assholes sprinkled about and some who just want to mooch off your 15 minutes of fame but for the most part, we’re all decent people. Even if you’re a dark elf, I know you’ve got brains so you can sort of the phonies from the real people around you.” Farlon paused his short speech to take a long sip of his drink.

            Levi remained silent for a moment, taking in his friend’s words. “You know, you’re a hell of a lot smarter than you look.” The sandy haired chaser lowered his glass to smile, spilling the golden brown liquid from his mouth and into his lap in the process. He jumped slightly and fumbled for a napkin, swearing like a sailor as he cleaned himself. Levi merely sighed and shook his head, “I take it back. All of it. And before I lose my mind, what the fuck is everyone drinking to make them act like idiots?”

            “It’s butterbeer!” Petra’s light voice answered as she walked back alone to the couch and sat down. She handed Levi a glass filled with the frothy drink and grinned. “Thanks to a few, ah shall we say _connections_ , we have in the kitchen, we were able to smuggle some in. Usually, there’s not much alcohol it since they sell it down at Hogsmeade but if you add- “

            “Careful Petra,” Farlon interrupted. “Don’t be giving away my secrets.”

            “You’re the one who doped the drink?” Levi incredulously asked, making a mental note to rely on Farlon in Potions.

            “Indeed!” the potions master answered with a grin. “I supply every house with the booze but they have to get it themselves from the kitchen and take the blame if they get caught. My older brother taught me the potion and since he created it, no one else knows the recipe other than me. It’s a good, efficient system and people don’t fuck with me.”

            “Mind his ego, Levi. The more compliments you give him, the bigger his head gets,” Petra warned as she drank her enhanced butterbeer. “Since you didn’t want to drink tonight I got you a normal bottle of butterbeer. You should drink it; it honestlytastes good.” Levi decidedly made a show of rolling his eyes and clicking his tongue but drank a fair amount. It wasn’t bad; it left a warm tingling as it passed through his throat and down to his stomach. Its aftertaste wasn’t abhorrent either; flavors that he could not identify yet had most definitely tasted before lingered on his taste buds.

            “Not bad,” Levi finally declared. Farlon grinned while Petra simply shook her head at the seeker’s final decision. “So how long do these parties usually last?”

            “Usually, until Reiner knocks out.” Petra glanced over at the buff currently struggling up the stairs with Daz on his left and Annie on his right. “Which looks like about now.” The young witch stood up and downed the last of her drink before she placed it back on a small table littered with other bottles. “Alright, I’m off to bed. See you tomorrow.”

            “I’m with her,” Farlon agreed as he too stood to leave. “You coming, Levi?”

            “No, I’ll come up when I get sleepy.” The other two Quidditch players nodded and bid him a goodnight before turning to go to their respective dormitories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok this chapter killed me so much, please give me love


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who just got back from Harry Potter world?? THIS GIRL! I swear i have so much inspiration now, hell, i might update again within 2 weeks~ And hooray!!!! My incredible beta is back! (please ignore the horrible formatting on my part because i know it sucks)  
> Also, keep an eye out for a new tiny ficlet of mine written for the SNK mini-bang. Only 5 chapters and it's gonna be called Don't Look Over Your Shoulder.

“Madam Florian, can I please go back to my house?” Eren loudly complained for the umpteenth time from his bed. Much to the seventh year’s dismay, the matron merely sighed her irritation and continued to work in front of him. “I feel like it’s really healed. Your healing charms are second to none, after all, so I’ll just be going.” Eren began to stand up and shrug his arm from its sling.  

“Flattery will get you nowhere. Now get your rump back in that bed, and stop jostling that shoulder,” Madam Florian sternly ordered. Although her back was to Eren, the seeker knew that she practically had eyes on the back of her head. So reluctantly, Eren dragged the covers off and climbed back into his little cot with a pout. “And wipe that pout off your face.”

The matron finally turned around with a glass in her hand and her long, white wand in the other. She kept her silky black hair out of her face with a white bonnet and dressed in simple, purple robes covered by a stark white apron. Eren’s bright eyes snapped to the contents of the glass as a bubble floated above it harmlessly, then popped and _screeched._

“Please tell me you don’t actually expect me to drink that?” Eren incredulously wondered aloud, clutching his gut for good measure.

“No, I want you to have a cup of tea with it,” Madam Florian replied impatiently. “You know the drill, Eren. Normal healing spells will not fix you up without causing more harm. This—“she shook the glass, causing more screaming bubbles to rise—“will fix your shoulder.”

“I thought it was already healed,” Eren questioned. “You did something with your wand yesterday.”

“I only cast a Numbing Charm. Your shoulder is still as broken as it was when you first came in. That being said,” Madam Florian gave the glass to Eren and glared down at him. “Drink the potion before I have to make a new batch.” Eren eyed the dark green liquid and squeezed his eyes shut before raising the cold glass to his lips and swallowing down the potion at once. It passed over his tongue quick enough that he barely tasted it and burned his throat as it slithered down to his stomach. Still, a pungent aftertaste filled his mouth, and the brunet gagged.

“Throwing it back up will only make the taste worse,” Madam Florian pointedly muttered before taking the now empty glass and walking back to her small potions table. “I want to keep you here for the rest of the weekend to make sure you heal properly, okay?”

Eren dropped his head back with a groan and glared at the ceiling. Despite the countless times Eren had stayed in the hospital wing over the past six years, the high-arching ceiling never ceased to amaze and capture his attention. Towering, sand colored pillars formed perfect gothic style arches only to meet even higher up. Beige and tan bricks stacked on top of each other created the lofty walls. Although he had never touched it, Eren felt sure that the ceiling would somehow be as surprisingly soft as the worn walls in the corridors. Unlit lanterns hung motionlessly from the center of the arches. The black lantern above Eren’s bed seemed chipped on one side; the brunet briefly wondered how it became like that.

“I see then,” Madam Florian spoke, recapturing Eren’s scattered attention. She had already cleared the potions table behind her and was sitting comfortably in a chair beside him, observing Eren with her owlish grey eyes. “Your mother was right to write me. This is more severe than usual.”

“Sorry, I didn’t catch what you were talking about,” Eren admitted, a light flush painting his face and neck.

“Your ADHD, dear.” Eren sat up straighter at the mention of his disorder and glanced around the wing quickly. “It’s worse than in previous years.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed,” the Gryffindor bitterly spat.

“Have you been wearing your gloves? The worse your symptoms, the higher chance that you could make things explode.” The matron waved her wand, conjuring Eren’s files, one monstrously thick roll of parchment, along with a quill and ink bottle.  

“I do when I remember. Armin and Mikasa also remind me if I forget.” Madam Florian scribbled down his answer while Eren stared down at his hands. He had not even noticed that they were rubbing the sheets between his bare fingers.

“Do they help you?”

“Slightly. The feeling of the leather helps ease the urge to touch everything, but lately, they haven’t really been doing more than being a bother.” There was another lull in her questions as Madam Florian quickly scratched his answer onto the parchment.

“Okay. I am going to go send an owl to your parents addressing my concerns and suggestions for the year and then grab some lunch. You are not to leave this wing while I am away.”

“Can I get visitors?” Eren asked almost desperately. There were no other patients but himself in the ward, and he was sure to lose his mind if there was nothing to focus his thoughts on.           

“Sure; you just can’t leave. Oh, and stay out of my office and cabinets.” Without another word, Madam Florian stood and briskly walked to the double doors separating the wing from the rest of the castle. Before the doors could slide shut, someone else slipped inside. The light blush that had faded from Eren’s face returned with a vengeance as the Gryffindor recognized them. Annie was standing in faded jeans and a form fitting green T-shirt that read, “I’m Keeper. Deal With It.” She kept her blonde hair haphazardly tied in a low bun with the exception of several strands that lingered on the right of her face. She clenched a small bouquet of flowers in her hand and kept her pale blue eyes trained on Eren’s face. Slowly, the Slytherin walked forward to Eren’s bedside and softly sighed.

            “I got you these,” she mumbled quietly and held out the flowers. Eren glanced at the bunch of flowers in her hand. It seemed to be a bushel of small, yellow fuzz balls with dark green ivy laced throughout the bunch, adding color. “Conjured them up myself,” Annie added after a pregnant pause and shook the flowers slightly.

            “Thank you. They look lovely,” Eren thanked with a genuine smile. He grabbed the flowers from her hand with his non-healing arm and placed them on his lap, touching the tiny petals gently.

            “I saw them in my mom’s flower shop before and thought they looked nice.”

            “Really? I’ve never seen this type of flower before,” Eren revered.

            “Well, they are commonly sold among muggles so that’s probably why you haven’t…” Annie trailed off, glaring daggers at the flowers. Another silence fell over the pair, this time, interrupted by the hissing of steam pouring out of Eren’s bandaged shoulder. He ignored it, assuming it was an indication that the potion he drank earlier was finally working.

            “So, look, “Annie steeled herself and bore her eyes directly into Eren’s. “I wanted to apologize for Reiner’s misbehavior during yesterday’s match. He was being an asshole and he will regret it eventually.” Eren’s mouth parted slightly at the apology; this was unexpected considering Annie was practically Reiner’s right-hand man if Bertolt was not available, even though that was rare.

            The words just tumbled out before Eren could register the thought. “Why do you care? You’re always with him anyway.” The already tense atmosphere thickened as Annie narrowed her eyes and knitted her eyebrows.

            “Don’t you have any barmy friends? Just because they act stupid doesn’t mean you’re stupid,” she snapped.

            Eren merely raised a brow. “I don’t understand what you mean.”

            “I don’t approve Reiner’s behavior but he’s still my friend,” she sighed, features relaxing. “Hence why I came to apologize. He shouldn’t be treating you like that, especially in Quidditch where you could get seriously hurt.”  Eren felt his jaw drop in surprise; he never thought Annie cared enough about him to intervene with Reiner and Bertolt, her two best friends in the entire school. Maybe he had a better chance with her than he originally thought…

            “Oh, uh, it’s okay. I should have been more aware of my surroundings anyway,” the brunet brushed off. “I get too focused on catching the snitch, and besides, what’s Quidditch if someone doesn’t get hurt, right?” Eren forced a quiet chuckle before clearing his throat. “But ah, thanks. It’s nice to know someone cares other than teachers and Gryffindor House.” Annie remained silent but held her gaze to Eren’s face, oblivious to the growing stretch of silence. At least, the stretch of loud hissing.

            “How long do you have to stay in here?” Annie questioned, eying his steaming shoulder with a raised eyebrow. Their conversation was beginning to flow as the tension adequately drained and both members became more comfortable with the other. 

“Madam Florian says all weekend to be sure,” Eren replied sullenly. “But I’ll be forced to go to classes on Monday. Brilliant, isn’t it?” Annie could not help but chuckle quietly as she lowered herself to sit on the side of his bed.

“Well, at least you’ll be able to study in here,” she pointed out. “The peace and quiet should help you concentrate. Meanwhile, I’ll be stuck in the common room trying to make flashcards while the first years go on and on about the castle.”

Eren grinned at Annie’s words. _Oh, the irony of that is hilarious,_ he instantly thought.

“What’s ironic?” The blonde asked with a head tilt. Shit, he must have said that aloud.

“Well, I can’t concentrate at all in quiet places,” Eren admitted with a sheepish grin. “I need someone to help me stay focused, or I’ll zone out literally five minutes after I start.”

“I can help you if-”

“But Armin and Mikasa are coming soon, I think,” he interrupted. “They’re usually the ones to help deal with my awful study habits.”

“Oh,” she paused. “Well, whatever works best for you, I guess.” Annie placed her hands on her lap and gripped her wand firmly as she turned her gaze outside. However, to Eren’s eyes, she was sitting there, seeing the world through a grey filter. He wanted to remove the filter and brighten her world with lively colors, like that of her golden hair.

Then quite abruptly, she stood, nearly making her chair topple over and practically smacking Eren off his train of thought. “I’ve just remembered I have a club meeting. I’ll see you later, Eren.” While tucking a loose strand behind her ear, Annie hastily trekked back to the large doors.

“Wait!” Eren cried. “I have to ask you something important.” The Slytherin halted, one hand on the door and ready to depart. He could taste the bile starting to rise in his throat, could feel the rapid beating of his heart, and could hear the tiny voice in the back of his head screaming at him not to go through with it. Then again, he was not a Jaeger if he was not stubborn and headstrong.

“Do you…We should…I was thinking…” Eren huffed and futilely tried to cross his arms. “Have you ever been to Hogsmeade?”

“No, because for the past three years I’ve just spent my weekends in the castle alone when all my friends leave to go,” she deadpanned.

“Well, what if we went together? I know a few places I think you’d be interested in,” Eren asked with a smile.

“Are you proposing a date with me?” Annie could not help the light flush of pink creeping onto her cheeks as the words slipped from her mouth.

“No, because I just ask all my friends out to Hogsmeade like this,” he deadpanned, tone almost perfectly mirroring hers.

Annie laughed and pushed the infirmary doors open. “I’ll think about it. Watch for my letter.” With nothing else to say, the keeper flitted through the doors and Eren was alone again. A wide smile rested on his face as he toyed with his wand absentmindedly. However, the overwhelming silence of the room was beginning to chip away at his smile. Thankfully, his hissing shoulder kept the silence at bay. Eren only truly hated a few things: anyone poking fun at his ADHD, his bullies, and silence.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Armin, can we be done for the day? Please?” The sun had set long ago already, and Eren could feel his eyes beginning to droop.

“When you can make my eyebrows purple, then we can stop.” The Ravenclaw placed the textbook down on the sheet pulled back to Eren’s feet, startling Snowball from her spot hidden from Madam Florian’s view, and drew his wand out. “It’s pretty simple in comparison to the magic we’ve had to do already.”

“I can’t do that magic either,” Eren groaned. Snowball padded softly onto his legs and stalked up his body until she sat on his lap, purring softly. “Can’t I just get some sleep? It’s nearly half past ten and-“

“Eren,” Armin snapped, effectively shutting Eren up. “You better listen to me. We have been practicing all day, and you’ve progressed well. If you can just do this, then I say we are good for the day. Besides, transfiguration is not that hard a class for you; you’re pulling through fairly well.”

“Still, I’m tired, and you can’t guarantee that I won’t forget everything tomorrow.” Eren pouted and laid back on his bed. The doors to the infirmary creaked open, and both boys turned to look at the intruder. Mikasa strolled in, wearing quidditch robes completely splattered in mud and a smile on her usually expressionless face.

“Hey, guys. Still studying?”

“Yes!” Eren shouted, cutting off Armin’s attempt at speaking over him. “This person here has made my brain bleed with the excessive teachin

            “Well, it’s good that you are studying for that quiz. Nanaba is going to be grading everyone hard since it’s our own faults we had to reteach ourselves the lesson.” The team captain reached into her robe pocket and drew out her black wand. She tapped the tip on a small stool nearby and immediately, the legs sprang to life. It trotted over to Eren’s bedside, just next to Armin, before freezing and becoming still once again. The Head Girl plopped down on the stool and sighed but not before catching the vase of yellow blossoms on Eren’s nightstand. “Where did you get those?”

            “Annie came by earlier. She gave them to me before keeping me company for a bit,” Eren summarized quickly, keen to leave out the details.

            “Well, I’m glad that you had someone to keep you company. If she made them by magic, tell her they look exquisite,” Mikasa complemented with a giggle.

            “Are you okay, Mikasa?” Armin question with an arched brow. “You seem uncharacteristically happy.”

            “I’m fine. I was playing quidditch with a few other prefects and house heads with magic allowed and someone cast a Cheering Charm on me. It hasn’t worn off yet.” She smiled again and tucked a few loose hair strands behind her left ear. “I think it was Hanji; he’s always been a bit charm-happy.”

            “Hang on, why are your robes filthy?” Eren blurted out.

            “I just told you, I was playing Quidditch! But I suppose there’s more to the story. Quite a nasty bludger was headed for Isabel. I didn’t think she’d be strong enough to get a good take on it so I was going to help her out but she proved me wrong. I had to dive through a mud puddle just to avoid it.” Mikasa’s smile faded slightly as she recounted her story; Eren silently rejoiced that the charm’s effects were finally beginning to diminish.

            “I bet Levi made a clear aversion from you after that,” Armin joked lightly. Mikasa let out an aberrant giggle while Eren wrinkled his nose in disgust.

            “Who cares what Levi would do,” he muttered quietly. “I don’t even get why you guys are talking about that tosser.”

            “Actually,” the dirtied quidditch captain began, ignoring Eren’s interruption. “He wasn’t there.” Eren stubbornly gazed up at the ceiling, determinedly trying to snub the conversation and failing.

            “Oh, really? I thought he loved playing quidditch,” Armin sighed. “At least, that’s what Erwin told me in History of Magic on Thursday.”

            “Hanji said that it’s his cleaning day or something. That and the fact that he wanted to study on his own for the quiz on Monday.” Eren pursed his lips at the new tidbit.

            “Oh big deal,” he bit out, surprising both his companions with his harsh tone. “I bet the lazy sod was too frightened to play. I mean, really, who studies on a Saturday?”

            “You are,” Armin pointed out literally with his wand. Eren paused his rant to consider the blond before glaring.

            “Well, I’m going to get a better grade than him because I haven’t been distracted by anything else. You and I—“the brunet waved his finger between them, sending off sparks—“we’ve been at this all day! Come on, let’s go again, just a little bit longer for tonight. I can’t wait to see the look on the prick’s face when I pass with flying colors.” Eren snatched the Ravenclaw’s forgotten spellbook and eagerly started to read the information.

            In his hurry, Eren missed the knowing smirk exchanged between the Prefect and the Head Girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a fair notice, this fic is going to have Eren/Annie for a small but important part. Don't worry, Eren/Levi is still endgame.


	8. PSA!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> important note about updates :0

Hey~!!!!

So, obviously that next chapter didn't come as quickly as I hoped ;-; And to be honest, it's probably not coming all too soon. My school year's started up again and I'll have a hell of a lot more responsibilities so regrettably, this fic and my others are going to take a long ass break. Now, this doesn't mean I'm on hiatus, I'll be writing whenever I can, but I mean that updates will be monthly or bimonthly. I also want to attempt NaNoWriMo again this year so there most likely will not be any updates all of November. I ask for your patience and though I've never received rude updating comments, I don't want any of those either. Thank you all for being understanding and I cannot wait to return~~ 

Also if you want to read something in the meantime, check out my little drabble fic of (soon to be) 5 chapters called Don't Look Over Your Shoulder. There's even fanart for it!!!! 

-Andy


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!~ jesus, i've been gone for a long while. So sorry and i don't intend on that happening again but depression's a bitch (same with school) so who knows when next update is out ripp
> 
> anyway, here ya go!
> 
> trigger warning: bullying and some foul name calling  
> disclaimer: i don't condone bullying or the use of such language to hurt people; i felt like i should say that since bullying is a theme in this fic

            Eren walked out of the transfiguration classroom with a frown tugging at his lips; he did not intend for his quiz to spiral like that.  

            "Hey Eren!"  _Shite_. Black hair bounced slightly as his best friend started off the column against she was leaning. "How'd you do?" Her brown eyes were shining more than usual even though her face remained blank. Time to change that.

            "Well," Eren drew out. 

            "No. For Merlin's sake, please tell me my hunch is wrong." 

            "I swear everything was going fine!" Eren promised. "The written part went okay, in my opinion. I know I did much better than I usually do and I actually felt confident in what I was writing. The words were honestly flowing really well. Perhaps I’ll give up education to become an author-“

            “Eren, get back to the point. How did the practical part go?” Mikasa cut through his rambles. _Fuck._

            “I just...for the practical part...I-"

            "Eren, tell me you didn't," Mikasa groaned and fixed the seeker with a temporary glare before turning back to the column with her things. 

            "Look, I didn't mean for it to-" 

            "How did this happen?" she interrupted while roughly seizing her bag from the dusty floor and walking down the corridor. Eren clutched his own bag tighter and followed her brisk stride. "I mean, you practiced and studied with Armin all weekend in the hospital wing," Mikasa argued. 

            "You don't have to get all hot about it. It is just one quiz. I'll make the grade up in no time." The duo approached the Great Hall, hoping to grab a snack before quidditch practice. A few excited first years ran past them, eagerly babbling about the points they had just earned for their house.

            “Eren you don’t…”

            Eren smiled softly. He remembered the first time that he earned points for Gryffindor at his first quidditch game. Luckily, it was enough to reclaim all the points he singularly cost Gryffindor already. Gryffindor did not win the House Cup that year thanks to his misadventures.

            "Oi! For god's sake, Eren!" Mikasa snapped.  _Shite_ , she was really pissed off. "Don't even fucking bother coming to practice today!" Without so much a glance at the snack table, Mikasa stormed out of the hall, leaving a bewildered Eren standing in her wake. 

            "What the hell did I do? It was just one quiz," he muttered to himself. He glanced at the snack table with sudden distaste. His stomach squeezed at the prospect of eating a chocolate frog. Not even the chance of getting a new card was appealing enough for him to pick one up. Instead, he merely huffed and wrapped his robes closer to his body before leaving for the common room, alone. 

            What was he going to do now that he had free time? Mikasa would not appreciate it if he showed up anyway. The smart thing to do was probably start some of the obscene amounts of homework his professors dumped on him. "Puking pastil," Eren murmured to the Fat Lady. 

            "Don't need to sound so glum about it," she replied airily before swinging open to allow the seventh year entry.  Already, the common room was full to bursting with loud first and second years chatting about the newest spell they learned in Charms. The older students were making a beeline to the dorms or towards the doorway, mostly likely to escape the commotion. A wise choice, really. Maybe that is what he would do. Just head to the library and study. His plan sounded nearly foolproof but he needed to change first. Mind made up, Eren strolled over to the stairs and took them two at a time to reach the seventh year boys' dorm. Thankfully, it was empty, though the haphazardly folded robes on Jean's bed suggested that he just missed some friends. 

            Eren shrugged his robes off in favor of some Gryffindor sweatpants and a grey hoodie. Dimly he noted that Snowball did not greet him; she was probably hunting some castle mice. He only hoped she would stay out of the kitchen. The last time she snuck inside, the house elves went on a slight frenzy. Eren adjusted his gloves once before slinging his bag over his back and decided to head out to the library. As he walked through the common room again, he tried not to let the tightness in his chest show itself on his face.

~*~*~*~*~*~

            He really was going to the library. He was going to start his homework. At least, that _was_ the plan. Currently, Eren found himself content outside, laying beneath the Whomping Willow. For some reason, the tree did not have as much an issue with letting him rest underneath. It was like his safe spot on campus whenever he just wanted to be alone. A perfect spot really; no one bothered him because of the stern warnings to stay away from the living nightmare and even the few who broke the rules were slapped away by the unforgiving branches. A truly perfect system.

            Eren was sprawled amongst the roots, his favorite book about the Chuddly Cannons between his eager fingers. Quidditch always managed to take his mind off things, especially pressing things, like his homework. It was peaceful being away from the castle. Out here, he could hear the faint blows of Mikasa’s whistle in the quidditch pitch. Remembering what caused him to be out here in the first place, Eren furrowed his brows. Mikasa was acting ridiculous. The grade was not even that bad; he moved up from Poor to Acceptable, that was moving from failing to scraping the minimum of passing so that had to count for something, dammit. Besides, he still had like three or four more weeks until the end of the first quarter to make up his lackluster performance.

            A cold breeze tore through Eren’s thin hoodie, knocking him off his train of thought rather abruptly. He glanced back down at the book in his hands but found that it had become too dark to read. The lack of sunlight always managed to piss him off. “Where the blazes did the time go?” Eren muttered to himself as he started to gather his things. If he hurried, Eren was sure that he’d be able to grab something from dinner before it closed for the night.  Once packed, Eren started a light jog back to the castle. He was not in the mood for something too heavy; maybe he would just request a sandwich. He slowed to a stroll as he entered the courtyard.

            “Well, well; if it isn’t little Jaeger boy.” Eren mentally rolled his eyes at Reiner’s childish remarks. He was leaning against a pillar near the courtyard’s other entrance with Bertolt beside him, sitting in the empty windowsill. “How’s the shoulder? I tried my best to make sure it was a clean break but you know brooms these days, unreliable and jerky,” he added with a grin.

            “Go suck a dick, Reiner,” Eren blurted out before he could properly tell his brain to just shut the hell up and ignore the bastards. Although, he could not help but smirk at the temporary blank face Reiner adopted.

            “Hey, I ain’t some fucking cock jockey* like you,” he retorted quickly much to Bertolt’s amusement.

            “Shut the fuck up.”

            “Aw, Bert, I think I touched a nerve!” Reiner mocked before pushing himself off the pillar and walking up beside Eren. Eren recoiled as Reiner reached a hand to stroke his face casually. “What, you don’t like being people’s bitch?”    

            “Get out of my face,” Eren grit out. There was a hot wave rising within him, becoming dangerously close to his head. _Count to ten, count to ten…_

            “What don’t you like this?”

            “I said get the fuck out of my face, Reiner,” Eren repeated and shoved against the Slytherin’s chest.

            “Would you rather have something else stroking your face,” Reiner scoffed and gripped Eren’s chin tightly. Suddenly, counting to ten was becoming a lot harder. “That can be arranged.”

            Quite abruptly, everything was white. Then, the white began to recede from Eren’s eyes, revealing an ache coming from his right hand and Reiner clutching at his nose with Bertolt worriedly grasping his shoulder. “You fucking pansy*!” Reiner shouted thickly and began digging around his robes with his left hand, only to let out another frustrated grunt.  “Where’s my wand, Bert? I’m going to curse the fanny*.”

            Eren did not stay to let Reiner get ahold of himself. He took off towards the castle, wand out and ready to retaliate if push came to shove. He was not even sure where he was going, but he turned into a corridor anyway. He startled a few portraits and received a fair number of angry shouts but at least none of the voices belonged to Reiner or Bertolt. A red spark flew out of his wand. Shite, he was becoming too distressed. Just a little further and he would probably be able to see the Great Hall doors.

            “ _Petrificus Totalus!”_ Reiner shouted. Eren cursed and dropped to the floor. His eye smacked unforgivingly into his own fist but he did not acknowledge the immediate pain. The spell sailed over his head and broke apart on the ancient stone walls.

            “ _Expelliarmus!”_ Eren shouted as he rolled over and shakily flourished his wand. Reiner’s wand wobbled in the other’s grip but remained in its caster’s hand.

            “You’re such a disgrace of a wizard and somehow you’re a pureblood; give me a break,” Bertolt laughed. “Sure you’re not a squib in disguise?” At that, Reiner let out a hearty laugh and slapped Bert’s shoulder. In the back of his mind, Eren noted the blood streaming from Reiner’s nose; he must have done that.

            “ _Immobulus,_ ” Bertolt cast softly. An odd sensation gripped Eren’s body. It almost felt as if his limbs turned into lead. Moving them was a too much of a pain; no, it would be better to just leave them as they were.

            “Excellent spell, Bert. Now he can’t go anywhere,” Reiner grinned. “Let’s have some fun shall we?” Reiner strolled up to Eren’s frozen body and stared down at him before sending a sharp kick into his gut. A gust of air ripped out of Eren’s lips. “That’s for running away.” Reiner sent another kick, this time directed at Eren’s crotch. Eren bit his lip hard, so much so that the taste of metal flooded his mouth but he could not make a sound. Tears gathered and threatened to spill over the edges of his eyelids as well. That was the absolute last thing he needed; crying only made things worse. “That’s for being a fag and trying to get with Annie.” This time, Reiner crouched down and gathered a handful of messy brown hair, using it to hoist Eren’s head up. He poised his right fist just in front of Eren’s nose. “And this is for breaking my nose.”  

*

 

**

 

***

 

****

            “Hey, hey! Are you okay? Wake up!” Eren blearily managed to wrench one eyelid open and gaze up. Someone was hovering over him. They had black hair and many scattered dots on their face with a yellow tie dangling by his other closed eye…

            “Hey Marco…” Eren muttered. “Boy, am I glad to see you…”

            “Oh my goodness, Eren. Are you okay? What happened? Can you walk?”

            “Not okay; I got beat up. Don’t think so,” Eren answered weakly. He pushed against the dusty floor, trying to ignore the rocks stuck under his nails and embedded into his palm. Marco gently lifted Eren’s arm around his shoulders and slowly began to stand. Eren carefully balanced his weight with Marco as he stood on each leg. Soon enough, they were making their way through the hall.

            “I’m going to take you to the hospital wing,” Marco decided.

            “No!” Eren shouted. Madam Florian would ask too many questions. “No, it’s fine just take me back to the common room; I, um, I have homework to finish.”

            “Eren, homework can wait,” Marco argued. “You need to-“

            “Finish that homework?” he interrupted. “Yeah, I know. Mikasa’s been saying the same thing to me. Can’t let the grades drop, you know?” 

            “Can you at least tell me what happened?” Marco relented. Slowly, they made their way up a staircase, stopping when it began to shift towards the Gryffindor entrance.

            “I, uh, I fell down some stairs,” Eren lied. He could practically feel the waves of disbelief pouring off Marco’s gaze.

            “And that gave you a black eye, bloody and broken nose, and god knows what else? Eren, you can trust me. I promise-“

            “Marco…” he whispered, voice cracking as he tried to keep it together. “Please, just let it go. I can handle this on my own.” Eren shut his eyes and willed the tears away. He had to prove that he was strong, that he could take care of himself. He was a fucking adult now; he _had_ to be able to take care of himself. The staircase halted and Eren forced his arm away from Marco. He would walk the rest of the way by himself.

            “Eren,” Marco began.

            “Goodnight,” Eren muttered and the first dam broke. Shite. Thankfully, his back was to the Hufflepuff and he could see the Fat Lady. That meant that he was almost in the clear. “Puking pastil,” he spoke for the second time that day. The Fat Lady opened the door without a word about his obviously rugged appearance, something for which Eren was immensely grateful. The common room was dark and empty; the fire that usually crackled reduced to smoldering ashes in the grate. Glancing just above the mantel, the clock showed it was just past eleven, the curfew for seventh years. That explained why Marco was wondering about the castle. That and the fact that he was Hufflepuff’s prefect.  At least it wasn’t Armin who found him, or worse Mikasa! The sound of the portrait opening alerted Eren out of his musings.

            “Thank you. Sleep well, Lady,” a gentle voice called out as light suddenly poured into the common room. _Speak of the devil,_ Eren thought. Quickly, he hobbled over and plopped down on a couch, dumping the contents of his bag out onto his lap and attempting to look like he had been working. Telltale tapping of shoes against stone indicated that Mikasa was walking further into the common room. She was nearly past his couch-

            “Eren? What are you doing up?” _Shite!_

            “I, uh, um…”

            “And what happened to you! _Lumos!”_ Wandtip light lit the air and revealed Eren’s battered countenance. “Explain!”

            “I fell down some stairs.”

            “I bet those stairs were named Reiner and Bertolt, no?” The wizard fell silent and glanced down at the book in his lap. ”Listen to me…” It was History of Magic. What did he even have to do for it again? Was it another essay or a project? Perhaps an outline of the next chapter they seemed to have started apparently. When that happened, he was not sure.

            “Bloody hell, Eren!” Despite the fact that he was a wizard, Eren often forgot the power a phrase could hold, which is exactly why he did not expect to suddenly be on his feet hovering over his best friend with rage derived from annoyance.

            “What do you want from me, Mikasa?” he exploded. “I don’t owe you anything! So please, let this go. Stop grinding my arse about my grades; I’m getting by just well enough. I actually improved under Armin’s direction, but you didn’t seem to notice, did you? I’m fucking trying so just bugger off*!”

            Mikasa stared at Eren with wide eyes but remained silent. Those brown eyes darted around his face but finally landed on his nose. Slowly she raised her wand to it and breathed out an airy incantation to fix it. Eren hunched over as his nose reset itself and healed.

            “You’ll bleed for a little bit. Goodnight.” The heat in Eren’s body dissipated quickly as he watched Mikasa retreat towards the girls’ dormitory. Shite, he should not have said that. She was rightfully concerned about him, but she kept walking further, making it harder for him to apologize. Fuck! How was he going to-

            “Eren,” Mikasa called out, voice strong yet light. “I-

            “I’m sorry,” he interrupted. “I should not have said any of that; I’ve had a rough night.”

            “It’s okay, I figured that much truthfully.” She turned around to stare at her friend. “I just wanted to tell you that I found you a tutor that can help you around our Quidditch schedule and is top of the class in the subjects you are struggling in. You’re going to meet up with him tomorrow in the Library right after classes.”

            “What? But, but we have quidditch don’t we?”

            “No, I changed the time so you can study. The first quarter ends in two weeks Eren; it’s almost Halloween already. If you don’t improve enough by then, you are off the team. So please, just this once, listen to me and don’t mess this up.”

            “Okay, okay, fine,” Eren relented with a pout and roll of his eyes.

            “Don’t stay up too late,” Mikasa chided as she resumed her path to the dorms. Eren chuckled at her words; he already knew he was looking at an all-nighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> British swear translations:  
> -cock jockey= derogatory term for a gay person  
> -pansy= derogatory term for effeminate or "weak" man  
> -fanny=pussy  
> -bugger off= fuck off


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? An update that isn't months later? Must be spring break~   
> No triggers, enjoy!

            “Don’t forget about your essays! I expect minimum two rolls of parchment on my desk by Friday about the applications of transfiguration in your future careers and in the general wizarding world!” Professor Nanaba managed to shout over the ruckus of chairs scraping against the floor and the sound of parchment wrinkling as it was crammed into books and bags. Eren blearily blinked his eyes open and yawned loudly at the noise; class must have ended. Slowly, he peeled his cheek from the wooden desk; he hoped there would not be any drool lingering.

            “Hey Eren, what are you doing now?” Armin asked as he too began to clear their shared desk of his notes and quills.

            “Um, I think I’m just going to go take a nap,” Eren admitted with a lazy grin.

            Armin let out a short laugh and shook his head gently, golden hair swinging casually. “Sometimes I swear you are just as lazy as Snowball.” Eren grinned but it quickly fell into another yawn.

            “M-maybe I’m an animagus,” he joked and finally stood, swinging his backpack onto his right shoulder. “Part human and part cat.” Sparing a quick glance down, Eren groaned inwardly at his rugged appearance; his robes were orderly but his shirt and tie bore a multitude of creases thanks to his reckless sleeping habits.

            “Well, I was going to go to the library and start some research on this essay. I extend the offer to you since you probably are not going to begin until Thursday night,” Armin offered.

            “The library, huh? Sure I’ll go; it’s actually a better place to sleep if Professor Samuel doesn’t see me there,” Eren pointed out with a smile. Armin chuckled and led the pair out of the classroom. The corridor was crammed with students, as usual, little first years still using large maps to find which way to go. Mainly consisting of Ravenclaws and Gryffindors, the crowd headed towards the staircases. Luckily, Eren and Armin headed in the opposite direction.

            “Not sure if you noticed or not,” Armin started, “but you aren’t wearing your gloves.” Eren glanced at his hands. Sure enough, they were bare and slightly sweaty. Absentmindedly, he wiped them on his robes. “Any particular reason?”

            “I don’t even remember picking them up this morning, honestly. I’m pretty sure I just rolled out of bed. But nothing happened so I guess it wasn’t a bad thing.”

            “Nothing yet,” Armin pointed out. “Do you want to get them?”

            Eren ran a hand through his hair; each strand was grainy and rough against his skin. He’d have to wash it better tonight to get that classic Jaeger-softness back. “No, I’ll pass. It’s too much a hassle.” They turned to the right and came to the tall and decorative library door. Elaborate carvings lay fresh in the wood though the iron handles were well worn and soft to the touch. With slight effort, Eren turned the knob to the right and shoved the door open. Immediately, row after row of impossibly tall bookshelves greeted the duo. Placed between each row of shelves were wooden tables, some with study groups already seated and busy.

            Eren followed Armin towards the farthest corner of the library: their unofficially claimed study spot. It was a rather small and secluded corner. There was only one relatively skinny table and four unbalanced chairs positioned underneath a large arching window that overlooked the quidditch pitch. Most days the fourth chair went empty of anyone except the occasional time that Jean would tag along. Today, however, the seat was filled but not by their comrade. No, today, someone with black hair in a _stupid_ undercut, black robes, and a green tie sat in the extra seat while Mikasa sat in front of him, smiling and chatting as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

            “Bloody hell, what’s he doing here?” Eren unapologetically blurted out. Mikasa’s smile wavered slightly at his remark and ever so slowly, Levi turned around. Stormy gray eyes looked Eren up and down. He could not help the involuntary shiver that ripped through his limbs; the twit’s eyes were unnervingly sharp. “This is _our_ table: me, Armin, and Mikasa.” With the most venomous glare, Eren met the other seeker’s eyes, “ _You’re_ not invited.”

            Levi merely rolled his eyes at Eren’s comments and turned back to face Mikasa. “You didn’t tell me that he was the one you wanted me to tutor,” he muttered just loud enough for Eren to hear. “I don’t teach incompetent children.” What an _arse_.

            “Who the hell are you calling a child?” Eren demanded angrily. Heatedly, he yanked the chair beside the Slytherin out and dropped on it, ignoring the sting of pain from his rear and the immediate rock to the shortest leg of the chair.

            “Shhh,” Armin chided as he took the last seat available, next to Mikasa. “Professor Samuel is going to kick you out again.”

            “Someone that the librarian has to kick out because they can’t abide by the one simple rule that any library has is a child,” Levi defined without so much a smirk or look towards Eren. “I’m not going to do it.” As if to prove his conviction, Levi pushed against the table and stood, bag on his shoulder and ready to leave.

            “No, Levi,” Mikasa groaned. “Please, you’re the only one with a similar schedule and ability to actually teach him.”

            “Doesn’t matter if he’s willing or not,” Eren interjected and crossed his arms. “I’m not going to allow myself to be taught by him.” He tore his eyes away from Mikasa’s clearly disappointed face and looked up. The ceiling was high above them, complete with arching stone pillars coming together at the center. It was almost similar to the infirmary wing, actually.

            “Oi!” Mikasa snapped, pulling him back to reality.

            “What?”

            “I said that you don’t have a say in the matter. The first quarter ends in two weeks and you are barely passing by the seat of your pants. You _are_ getting a tutor before I lose my best seeker.” Eren pouted but remained silent. Mikasa could threaten him all she wanted, he did not have to accept or recognize Levi’s help in the slightest. “And as for you Levi,” she leveled, “I would assume that you would want a real challenge in quidditch, right? Rumor has it, that’s why you left Durmstrang.”

            “Rumors are never true,” Levi muttered under his breath. “If he doesn’t act like a baby while I do it, then I won’t have a problem tutoring him. But considering how he’s already being a twelve-year-old, I don’t see why I should be wasting my precious time.”

            “We can stay this first time and make sure Eren behaves,” Armin offered happily and speaking as if Eren currently was not right across from him. “Just for an hour or so, and then if you still aren’t willing, you can leave.” Levi furrowed his brow, clearly contemplating their offers.

            “Fine. But if he’s still acting like a shitstain after an hour, I’m gone.” Reluctantly, Levi dropped his messenger bag back onto the table and took his seat again. Finally, he turned to face Eren again, boredom taking over his facial expressions. Even his eyes held no secret and indescribable emotion to Eren; they were just dark. How annoying. “Well, what subjects do you need help in?”

            “None of them,” Eren replied nonchalantly. With a roll of his eyes, he turned his attention to the bookshelf next to him. The dust settled a more thickly the higher up the shelves but closest to him, the layer was rather thin. His eyes fell on an old volume titled: _Merpeople: A Comprehensive Guide to Their Language and Culture._ Interesting. He remembered the rumors and scary stories that the sixth-years used to tell him as a first-year about the merpeople that dwelled in the Black Lake. They said that once, a student got too close to the edge and merman pulled them in. A merman or a grindilow. He could not remember exactly how the story went. As he grew up through, he put less faith in the stories; no one had ever seen merpeople in the Black Lake except for the ghosts but even that was debatable. The ghosts tended to spread false stories to make their afterlife more exciting. Nearly-Headless Nick was always talking about his denial to join the Headless Hunt so he already had his subject. No, ghosts like Moaning Myrtle and Edmund Grubb, though the later tended to stay away from the students a majority of the time. Edmund was a weird ghost. He would haunt-

            “Okay, so if you want to fail your charms exam coming up that makes up a majority of this term’s grade, go ahead,” Levi sighed and lounged back in the wooden chair. “It’s not my fault that you are a plonker incapable of even paying attention for one damn second.” Eren jolted back to reality. Shite, he zoned out more than he meant to.

            “Fuck you, I can pay attention. Teach me anything you want and I guarantee that I will pick it up,” Eren challenged heatedly.

            “Eren-,” Armin started to warn. A warm hand on his own silenced him; Mikasa shook her head slightly.

            “Okay fine,” Levi continued, either not noticing or not caring about Armin’s feeble interruption. “I’m going to teach you two spells and you have to get them by the end of the hour.”

            “Deal,” the Gryffindor agreed.

            “Alright then, let’s get started.” Levi reached into his bag and pulled out a loose sheet of parchment, a quill and ink, and their current spellbook _, Standard Book of Spells, Year 7_. “Ok, I want you to make water and conjure a flock birds.”

            “What are the incantations?”

            “Look them up and write them down,” Levi answered, tapping his fingers against the spellbook. Eren rolled his eyes but grabbed the book and dragged it over to him. He flipped towards the index of spells and started to rake his eyes down the columns.

            “Hmmm… okay so _aguamenti_ for the water one,” Eren muttered and picked up Levi’s quill to dip it into the ink. As he started to scribble the letters down, he rolled his eyes at the ink color- of course, it emerald green. “And the second one is… _avis_. Wait, we already learned these last year.”

            “Then you shouldn’t have too much trouble with them. Give it a go,” Levi prompted. “Hang on, you don’t have anything to fill.”

            “And uh, actually Levi,” Armin interrupted again. “If Professor Samuel catches any whiff of magic like this in his library, we’ll all be kicked out for the week minimum. Maybe you can teach Eren something different in the meantime?”

            “Oh shite, I didn’t even think about that,” the Slytherin admitted as he scratched his head absentmindedly. “Okay so new plan, Eren. You’d better have those two spells learned by tomorrow when we meet up again or else I’m not tutoring you any further. Is there anything else you need help in?”

            Eren stared at Levi. If he was being honest with himself, Levi baffled him. He did not have any actual vendettas against Levi yet. At least none other than the justified annoyance at his complete tosser attitude after their first match; Eren still did not buy the bullshit “good sportsmanship” excuse. That and the fact that Levi could be a real git sometimes in History of Magic. However, maybe just this one time…perhaps he should look past all that… If there was one willing person with the same stress he was under to actually teach him, he probably should take this offer. If not for any other reason, then at least for quidditch. He really could not let his team down by being out for a quarter because he turned down an opportunity to raise his grades due to his own pride.

            Eren stayed silent as he deliberated his answer, inevitably drawing all pairs of eyes to rest on him. After a lengthy five minutes, he sighed. “I don’t know is there?” Eren finally replied. Just because he agreed to let Levi teach him, that didn’t mean that he’d make it easy for him.  

            “I dunno, that’s why I asked you, dumbass,” Levi exasperatedly answered. “Don’t waste my time, I have things to get done.” Apparently, it seemed like Levi had no such intentions of taking any of his antics. Shite.

            “Fine. I don’t get anything in History of Magic. Teach me that.”

            “What don’t you understand in particular?” Levi pressed as he rummaged through his bag for their textbook, _A History of Magic_.

            “The whole chapter. Dietrich manages to lull me to sleep each lecture he gives,” Eren admitted with a chuckle.

            “Oh hell no,” Levi started and abandoned his search of the textbook in favor of staring hard into Eren’s eyes. “If I’m going to spend my time helping you, you have to start putting actual effort into your classes. I’m not going to sit here and reteach the entire fucking lecture because you fell asleep. Got it?”

            “You don’t tell me what to do,” Eren retorted, clutching his wand angrily. “I’ll be awake if I want to.” All of a sudden, yellow sparks showered down on the four, courtesy of Eren’s wand.

            “Eren, calm down,” Mikasa muttered. “You’re not wearing your gloves.” The seeker took his captain’s words in consideration. He had to be more careful, especially around Levi. He did not even want to think about what could happen if he accidentally let slip he had ADHD or worse, that he could not control his magic like a literal 8-year-old child.

            “Sorry,” he muttered. “I’ll pay closer attention.”

            “Good. Now listen up because I’m only going to explain once. Basically, all we’ve been doing is historical people,” Levi began.

~*~*~*~*~*~

            By the time dinner came about, Eren was certain he was the only student in all of Hogwarts with their robes still on. He trudged into the Great Hall by himself, his schoolbag, unfortunately, heavier and weighing down his right shoulder. Spotting gold and black hair along the Gryffindor table, Eren walked over to his two best friends and tiredly sat down.

            “Oh hey Eren!” Armin greeted with a smile. “Sorry we left early but how did the rest of your tutoring go?”

            “The nutter only just let me go! We’ve been studying for the past like four hours! I swear he can’t have a notion of time or breaks,” Eren complained. “I’m so tired and haven’t even _touched_ my homework for any other class besides History of Magic and Charms.” With a dramatic sigh, Eren plopped his head down on the worn wooden table and groaned. “I’m hungry but I can’t even muster any energy to chew a Bertie’s Bean, let alone eat an entire meal.”

            “If you put this much effort into eating as you are in complaining, you probably would be full by now,” Mikasa teased playfully.

            “Oh hush,” Eren sighed and pulled himself up. Chicken and some type of pasta appeared on his plate. That was good enough for him, he supposed. Eagerly, he dug into his food, sparing nothing, even the smallest pasta noodle. “Oh shite!” he exclaimed suddenly, spraying bits of green pesto sauce about the table much to his friends’ disgust. “There’s quidditch practice tonight, isn’t there.”

            “Correct. It’s in an hour so you better not eat too much and get sick,” Mikasa scolded as she herself sipped on a soup. “Incoming,” she warned quietly. Before Eren could so much question what that even meant, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning, another pair of bright blue eyes and crisp blonde hair filled his vision of sight.

            “Hey Annie,” he greeted with a smile. “What’s up?”

            “Well, I’ve been waiting for my owl to return from my parents- I mean, uh, from a friend but they haven’t sent her back yet so I’ve decided to give you my letter of response in person,” Annie huffed out quickly, her eyes glued to a spot over Eren’s face. “So here.” She thrust a folded note into his hands and crossed her arms stubbornly.

            With slightly shaking hands, Eren opened the note. It felt different in his hands, almost as if it wasn’t made from parchment. The folded sheet was far too smooth to be parchment. Upon closer inspection, Eren found faint blue lines running horizontally across the sheet. It was that muggle type of sheet to write on that Armin had sometimes: loose-leaf paper. Weird. Wait, it was a note. He needed to read what was inside. Coming back to the task in front of him, Eren carefully peeled the paper apart, holding it delicately by the tips of his fingers. Last time he handled the stuff, it ripped rather easily.

            Inside the note, there was a simple sentence, written thinly with purple ink in small, barely legible loopy letters.

_Eren,_

_I accept your invitation out to Hogsmeade on one condition; take me there as your girlfriend._

_-Annie_

             A smile split across Eren’s face and he stood rather abruptly to envelop the short keeper in a hug despite her weak attempts to shove his arms away. “I accept your condition,” he murmured in her ear, making her relax into his arms.

            “I can tell,” Annie scoffed and firmly shoved against Eren’s chest, freeing herself from Eren’s bear hug. “The only reason that I let you get away with that is because you are my boyfriend now.” She kept her face blank as she spoke to him but Eren shrugged it off. It was probably because they were in public.  

            “I heard the first trip is next weekend,” Eren heard himself say. He barely thought of the idea before he said it. “Let’s go to that one.” Annie simply nodded and waved once in farewell before turning and walking back to Slytherin’s table, leaving Eren staring happily in her wake. “Guys, she’ll be the death of me,” Eren contently sighed and turned back to face his best friends. Armin laughed and put his fork down while Mikasa just huffed.

            “I don’t trust her, Eren,” Mikasa volunteered again. “And I know you don’t want to hear this but I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

            “Hush! You’re biased!” Eren exclaimed. Armin let out another laugh at that and interrupted.

            “She’s just trying to help, Eren. If I’m being honest, I’d say the same thing. Have fun with your new relationship but just be careful. A girlfriend isn’t a fuck buddy; you have to treat her better than that,” Armin pointed out in an elegant manner.

            “Ugh, you guys never encourage my crushes!” the Gryffindor moaned in despair. “I don’t know why I tell you these things, honestly; I just get my hopes up for nothing.”

            “Well that’s life for you,” Mikasa added before standing up. “Come on, we have quidditch to get to.” Eren pouted and stood to follow his captain out of the room dutifully.

            “See you later, Armin!” Eren shouted across the hall. As he reached the entrance, he spotted two figures who practically ripped his stomach out with their mere glares. Shite! Did they see him with Annie? Neither Reiner nor Bertolt moved towards him but they did not need to; Eren could already tell in their body language that they would come for him soon enough. “Hey Mikasa, what are you doing after practice?”

            “I’m just going back to the common room,” she replied casually. “Why? Do you want to do something?”

            “No, no, I was just wondering,” Eren lied, not taking his eyes off his pair of bullies. “I think I’ll walk with you.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, can you believe that this fic is now a year old? Thanks for sticking with me through these long-ass breaks!!! I am sorry there has been so many though. I have no intention of abandoning this fic so do not worry. This is a bit of a short chapter, I wanted to get the ball rolling so the next chapter will flow smoothly. 
> 
> And if anyone has a problem reading this fic because Eren is a very proud pansexual, then the X button is right there in the corner of your browser. Please click it instead of leaving a comment using derogatory terms, thanks.

“Will you _stop spacing out!”_ Levi finally exclaimed. Eren jumped out of his seat and whirled around to face his tutor with narrow eyes.

            “I’m not!” he hissed and returned his focus to the potion bubbling in front of him. He just had to pay attention to the recipe. Essentially, making potions was like making food. Just with weirder ingredients and could be potentially dangerous. Besides, he could say the same thing for his grandmother’s casseroles and he actually ate those.

            “Oi, are you trying to make a poison because you are succeeding.” Eren started again at Levi’s sudden words.

            “What are you-?“

            “Look at the cauldron, imbecile,” Levi grumbled.

            “Oh…” What should have been a thin, clear broth had somehow mutated into a thick, black heated concoction. “Hang on, maybe I can try something else,” Eren offered. He reached across the table and grabbed his wand. “I think if I wave it over the potion like it says in the textbook, I may get the consistency back.” It did not seem too complicated, only being a figure 8. Carefully, Eren waved his wand and held his breath. A large black bubble merely burst defiantly.

            “Okay Jaeger,” Levi declared as he slammed his Potions book shut. “I think we can call it for the day. This potion is not getting us anywhere and you clearly cannot perform it.” Eren threw himself back in his chair and sighed.

            “Thank god. I am exhausted,” Eren replied. “This potion is stupid.”

            “It’s only hard because you don’t know how to hold a wand or read a damn book,” came the swift response as Levi packed his bag.

            “You fucking arsehat; I can hold a wand perfectly fine,” Eren retorted loudly.

            “Oh yeah, and you can disarm Reiner when you need to,” Levi sneered. Eren narrowed his eyes; who the hell told him that? “Better watch out, Eren. Now that you’re shagging Annie, it’s all downhill from here. Who knows when they’ll strike.” Abruptly, a beefy, white arm yanked Eren out of his chair, crushing his windpipe and cutting off his breath. Eren barely noticed his wand drop from his hands as he clawed at the arm holding him captive.

            “Now, now, Eren,” a familiar low voice whispered in his ear. “Remember what I did last time when I heard you were trying to flirt with Annie? Probably not, considering you passed out like a pussy. This time, I’ll make sure you stay asleep for good this time.” The arm began to squeeze tighter. This was not good! If the pressure continued, he was going to die! Darkness began to creep on the outskirts of his vision. He was going to suffocate in Reiner’s grasp. Why wasn’t Levi helping him? Why was no one helping him? No one was there…

 

            Eren shot awake to the shrill noise of someone’s screams. Everything was black and much too loud; the screams were rattling his mind. Now that he thought about it, Eren realized his throat was rather sore too. A spark of red emitted from his hands as he realized that he was the one screaming. With a jolt, Eren covered his ears and curled in on himself. He did not want anyone to see him like this, much less see himself like this.

            A hand gently began to stroke his back. “Eren? Eren, listen to me okay? You have to calm down. Can you stop screaming? You’re safe, you’re not alone.” Eren clamped his ears down harder and began to rock on his bed. Renier was so close; he did not even hear the door open nor any steps behind him. It was terrifying and much too real. Reiner was stronger than him both physically and magically. There was no escape from him; Reiner could do anything he wanted to Eren and never have to lift a finger.

            “Eren, please listen to me. You are safe, Reiner isn’t here and neither is Bertolt. I promise you, if either one of them tried to show their face anywhere near here, I would beat them up and throw them down the staircase back to whatever slimy hole they crawled out of. I need you to stop screaming though first, ok?” The voice sounded familiar. It was deeper than Armin or Mikasa’s but also warm and friendly.

            “J-Jean?” Eren finally rasped. “I-I’m sorry, I just…” A shudder ripped through his body. His limbs felt as weak as bowtruckles.

            “Hey, hey, it’s fine,” Jean reassured softly. “Nightmares happen to everyone. The only difference is that when you get them, you also emit red sparks that are slightly unnerving?” Jean laughed nervously as he spoke. “How are you right now?”

            “Well,” Eren started but paused. At least he was not shaking anymore and his breathing returned to its normal rate but the images still darted about his mind. “Physically, I think I’m alright but I am definitely not going back to sleep tonight.” Eren began to pick gently at a loose string on his comforter.

            “We don’t expect you to,” another voice replied. Eren glanced up to see Gunther sitting on the end of his bed. “And…I know this may not be my place to say anything about it, but if Reiner is hurting you so severely that you are having actual nightmares about him, I really think you should tell someone.”

            “Well you’re right about one thing,” Eren started, “it isn’t your place to say anything to me.”

            “Eren-“

            “No, Jean! I appreciate you calming me down but the last thing I need right now, is more people telling me how to take care of myself.” Eren uncurled himself and shrugged off Jean’s hand. He grabbed his wand from his nightstand and lifted a sleeping Snowball from his desk. “I’m going down to the common room to clear my head. I’ll be back in the morning.” Eren did not bother looking back as he stormed out of the dormitory. He was sick of everyone telling him that he should tell an adult about Reiner and Bertolt. Reiner was Head Boy of Slytherin, no adult was going to take his word over Reiner’s, especially for something like bullying. Not to mention, the moment Reiner found out he told a professor, Eren’s life would only worsen. Yet, no one else seemed to be able to wrap their minds around that fact.

            “No one understands, Snowball. I have to do this alone,” Eren muttered to his sleeping cat. The common room was dark but Eren did not mind. Carefully, he maneuvered his way to the soft couches and tiredly plopped down. Snowball let out a soft hiss from being jostled too much but did not leave his lap. Eren glanced out the window; the clouds were moving rapidly, covering and uncovering the moon’s beams. It looked like he was in for an eventful night


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> surprise nighttime update!   
> enjoy~~

            “Well you look like shite,” Levi greeted the next morning in History of Magic. Eren barely acknowledged the Slytherin’s presence and merely dropped his bulging backpack on their table-desk. Eren threw himself into his chair and leaned his head on his bag, silent for a change. “What, did you get beat up?”

            Eren winced slightly but kept his face down. “I know,” he groaned. “My robes are wrinkled, my shirt is ink-stained, and I have practically purple bags under my eyes.”

            “What happened?” Levi asked as he took out his textbook and quill now that other students were beginning to drift in. Eren turned to face Levi with a glare.

            “We aren’t friends. I don’t have to explain myself to you at all so just bugger off,” he grumbled.

            Levi raised his hands in mock surrender. “Fine. I don’t care anymore.” Eren grunted in approval and turned his head back to the front of the class. Professor Dietrich floated through the front wall, immediately quieting the class.  He started speaking about something, but Eren could not bring himself to pay attention for longer than a minute. He watched distantly as Dietrich blathered on about something, his ghostly eyes never leaving the paper he was reading from, and let out a soft sigh. His own eyes drooped down to being only half-open and stared at the unopened textbook propping his arms up. He could feel the intrusive thoughts from the night before trying and succeeding at finding some sort of way to weasel into his brain. Gunther had a point, maybe he should try to tell someone, or at least talk to a friend about this. Professors were a definite no and so were Mikasa and Armin. He needed to confide in someone who would listen, maybe offer advice, and not do a damn thing that Reiner could possibly hear about. Now, whom did he know who could offer him those services…?

            Eren glanced to his left. Levi was in tune with the lecture, his quill flying as he neatly wrote each word that seemed to leave Dietrich’s mouth. He definitely would not be a bad candidate, even if he was a git a solid 90 percent of the time. “Oi, Levi,” he whispered.

            “Shut up, you should be taking notes,” the Slytherin hissed back, his eyes not lifting from his parchment.

             “Fine,” Eren sighed. He lifted his head from the top of his bag just high enough to reach in and fumble around for a quill and some parchment. However, after a quick feel around, he quickly realized he must have forgotten to repack his bag. Reluctantly, Eren turned to face Levi. Again, the Slytherin was furiously writing and completely ignoring him. “Can I borrow some parchment?”

            “I don’t have to share my shit with you. If I recall correctly, you just said that we weren’t friends,” Levi muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Eren to hear. “Therefore, your problems are not my concern and I don’t care about them.”

            Eren scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Stop being a git and just give me a spare sheet. You’re making a bigger deal out of this than it needs to be.” Quite dramatically to Eren’s eyes, Levi slapped his quill down and bent to retrieve something from his open bag at his feet. He pulled out a full, blank roll of parchment and placed it on the table. “Thanks so much-, “Eren started and reached for the roll but stopped when Levi smacked his gloved hand away.

            “The hell do you think you are doing?” Levi snapped and snatched the roll from the table space between them. “This is for _my_ notes. Get your own or just write in your book or something.”

            “What? No, I only rented my books; I can’t write in them,” Eren protested.

            “Then come prepared for class. You’re not getting any of my parchment,” Levi declared with an air of finality. The Gryffindor sat with his mouth open slightly and narrowed his eyes. Levi was not focusing on him anymore, he noted vaguely before he huffed and clenched his wand. What was _with_ this guy? Once again, he gave Levi a chance of doubt in his mind and once again, Levi proved his initial impression correct: that he was just a foul git with some mediocre quidditch skills. Somehow, he would spend next period and at least three others together before tutoring together after school. Eren jolted upright in his seat, earning a nasty glare from his desk partner. _Oh shite,_ Eren thought suddenly. _I forgot to practice those two spells._ Eren clenched his fist tighter. What were they again? Water and something else. The incantation for that charm was… Bollocks, he was drawing a blank. Wait no, maybe an “i” or-

            “Agumenti!” Eren whispered to himself.

            “Can you honestly shut up for two minutes and pay attention so I don’t have to reteach this to you?” Levi hissed again. Eren finally turned his head to the left and leveled the Slytherin a fierce glare. Suddenly, Levi let out a yelp, grabbed his parchment, and jumped out of his chair, knocking it over and generally causing a commotion. “Oi! What the hell?” he shouted angrily.

            “Mr. Ackerman, what is the issue?” Dietrich asked, his monotonous voice not reacting in the slightest to the sudden outburst.

            “This plonker just cast a spell that got all my notes wet and ruined half of them!” Levi exclaimed, holding out his soaked parchment rolls. True enough, the bottom half of the first page of notes was illegible, the only thing left was just streaks of emerald green. Eren blinked in surprise and looked at his hands. Sure enough, his wand was like a tap, a small stream of water continually pouring forth from the tip and spreading across the desk.

_Shite._

            Quickly, Eren muttered a quick canceling incantation and dropped his wand on the wet table with a miniature splash. “No wait, Professor!” Eren scrambled to defend. “It was not intentional, I promise. It’s another one of, uh, _those_ situations.” Eren tugged on his gloves nervously and stared Professor Dietrich in his grey eyes.

            “Hmm,” Dietrich began, “well Mr. Jaeger, this will be reported as per usual. You’ll need to work on this, you are a seventh year after-all. We need-“

            “Need you to be a role model for the younger students and be able to uplift the Hogwarts reputation wherever you go,” Eren finished hastily. “I’m trying my best, Professor.”

            “Alright… Let’s get back to class lecture again,” Dietrich started.

            “Wait, what?” Levi blurted out. “Why does he have a free pass on this? He just ruined over half my notes on some poxy argument about a roll of parchment and all he gets is a slap on the wrist?”

            “Mr. Ackerman, mind your language please,” Dietrich warned. “I’m afraid the answer to your question does not concern you. Now, sit down.” Levi narrowed his eyes but stiffly pulled out his chair and sat down. Eren watched him carefully from the corner of his eyes as Dietrich began to drone on again.

            “Oi,” a sharp whisper called out. Eren turned his head to face Levi’s dark expression. “I don’t know what type of gob shite you and the teachers are, but mark my words, you _will_ pay for this.”        

            Eren just stared blankly. He couldn’t just defend himself, it would be too obvious to Levi that he was trying to hide something. Fuck. “Oooh, scary,” he sneered finally. Levi narrowed his eyes to the point of mild concern and scowled fiercely before snapping back down to copy his notes, hands carefully moving to avoid the drying puddles. Eren looked back at his hands. His gloves were once again covering his skin and failing at reigning his magic in. This was ridiculous; he could barely get his charms to work in actual Charms class but when he just muttered it to practice, the magic faucet simply unlocked and released its energy. He really was getting worse; Madame Florian was right to be concerned. Eren groaned softly and rested his head in his hands. The rough texture of the gloves rubbed uncomfortably yet familiarly against his cheeks. Considering how shitty of a job they were doing, he might as well just take them off.

            Eren sighed and rubbed his eyes wearily. He should be paying attention to class so he could pass and keep playing Quidditch. He lifted his head up from his gloves’ unfavorable surface and dug through his bag for a quill. After much jostling, Eren finally pulled out a bent, nearly featherless quill, a tiny jar of black ink, and the remnants of a Bertie’s Beans box that would have to be his parchment scroll for the moment. He glanced up at Dietrich and tried to focus his mind; he had to listen to the professor for at least five minutes, a feat much easier said than done. The topic of today’s lecture was…the sea. Or maybe the magical creatures dwelling within it? Dietrich was too far into a tangent for Eren to tell what might have even caused him to go there.

            Additionally, luck, surprisingly, was not on Eren’s side. Once he finally decided to start taking notes, regardless of what the Professor was rambling about, the school bells seemed to think differently, ringing the moment Eren made a dip in his rapidly drying out ink jar. “Fuck,” he cursed quietly and threw his quill down. Levi did not spare him a word as he carefully cleared his side of the desk and bent over to load his messenger bag. Eren merely shoved his textbook, quill, ink, and bean box remnants into his backpack. At least his next class was Potions; he was halfway decent in Zackley’s dungeon.

            With a sigh tearing from his lips, Eren scrapped his chair against the floor and stood. Absentmindedly, he attempted to smooth down the worst of his robe’s wrinkles and tightened his poorly knotted tie. He had to hurry to his next class; the dungeon was a good power walk away. But the moment, he tried to take a step forward, Eren found himself plummeting to the stony floor.  “Shite!” he shouted and flung his arms out to catch his fall. Ungracefully sprawled against the stone, Eren rolled onto his back. “Ouch… What the fuck?”

            “Eren, are you okay?” Armin asked from across the room as he made his way over. “You looked like you hit the ground pretty hard.”

            Eren barely heard Armin’s words, though. His mind was too busy focused on his shoes. Each shoelace was tied neatly together in one deceptively strong bowtie. The only problem, however, was the fact that he distinctly remembered tucking his laces into his shoe because he was running late to breakfast this morning and did not want to risk his sleep-addled brain accidentally casting a mortal spell instead of the harmless shoe-tying one. So who was the arsehole who tied his shoes together? Immediately, Eren turned to Levi, still taking his time to ready his backpack and sporting a pretty smirk.

            This. Arse.

            “Took you long enough to notice,” Levi drawled. “You really are quite dense.”

            “Fuck you,” Eren snarled.

            “Oh, looks like I touched a nerve,” Levi snickered and finally stood up from the desk. “Good luck getting to Potions; and for your sake, you’d better figure out that counterspell by tutoring after school.” Without another glance, Levi strolled out of the classroom and around the corner.

            “Eren?” Armin hesitated, kneeling beside the still fallen Gryffindor.

            Eren flinched at Armin’s voice, “Bloody hell!” he shouted and clutched at his heart. “Give a man some warning before you sneak up on his, Jesus!”

            “Uh, I did,” Armin laughed. “Come on, you heard Levi. You need to sort _this_ out,“ he said while gesturing to effectively all of him.

            “You just gestured to all of me,” Eren dryly replied as he maneuvered his bound feet behind him and rolled onto his knees.

            “I never should have forced you to watch How to Train Your Dragon _,_ ” Armin groaned as he helped pull Eren’s arms up. Amidst all their talking, the two of them somehow managed to get Eren on his feet. “I meant your feet. I don’t know the counterspell to help you out.”

            “Fuck,” Eren cursed. “I was about to ask you for the incantation.” Eren’s right hand suddenly felt hot. He averted his eyes from Armin and shrieked in surprise. His right glove was quite literally melting off his hand as his wand vibrated. “What the hell?”

            “That hasn’t been happening regularly, has it?” Armin questioned, blue eyes eagerly staring at Eren’s hand.

            “No, never!” Eren exclaimed. _Shite! What the hell? Why couldn’t he control his magic?_ “Shite, shite, shite, shite. I have to calm down. First things first: this stupid charm.” Eren yanked his left hand through his hair. He _knew_ this spell; it was used to cancel any unwanted spell and sounded almost like a finishing- “ _Finite incantatum!_ ” he shouted at his feet. A swell of air left his chest as he watched the laces undo themselves and go limp on the floor. “We’re going to be late for Potions!” Eren suddenly exclaimed, before grabbing his backpack and dashing to the door, stumbling only once.

            “Eren, wait a second!” Armin tried to yell after his overenergetic friend. “The bell already rang five minutes ago…”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, yikes! Sorry for the disappearance. College apps are a bitch that suck up all your spare time in the fall semester, lemme tell you. Here's an overdue chapter~

              Eren stumbled into Professor Pixis’ classroom before the second lunch bell rang. He let out a soft yawn and rubbed his eyes, careful to be sure only the backs of his hands touched his face. He opened his left eye to a squint and looked around the room. He exhaled deeply as he saw it was mostly empty: only a few Ravenclaws occupied the front row tables and then there was Connie, sitting at a table near the back of the room. Without really thinking much of it, Eren ambled towards the bald menace.

              Connie’s head shot up as his hand slapped the table the moment Eren scrapped the back of the chair beside him against the floor. “Oh, hey Eren!” he greeted cheerfully. “Didn’t think I’d see the day you decided to sit with me in class.” 

              “Ha, ha,” Eren mumbled as he dropped himself into the chair. Connie’s smile faded as he took in all of Eren’s appearance.  

              “Uh, are you alright, mate? I mean, you look-“

              “Like shite, I know,” Eren interrupted. “I’ve had one hell of a fucking morning but I’ll manage.” Eren could feel the sympathy exuding from practically every pore on Connie’s body. It was so copious, he could not tell if it was truly constricting around his throat or if that was only another illusion. An illusion of a powerful snake. A serpent. Yeah, a serpent of sympathy slithered around his being, tying his feet and legs together invisibly, just like what Levi did to him. He had to get him back somehow but he was fresh out of ideas. It was not as if he intentionally destroyed Levi’s notes so he shouldn’t even _have_ to be a part of…whatever this feud was between them. Oh well, now he was a part of it and he had to think of something. It really was not fair to him. Eren ran his fingers over the desktop. There were both shallow and deep grooves on its uneven surface. He had no doubt they came from someone’s quill nib but he wondered, how hard did someone press to make grooves _this_ deep? Their poor nib must have had to be replaced by the end of that class. But he liked the feeling against his skin. Usually, he would not feel this much detail since he would wear his gloves. He supposed the gloves did manage to keep focused on things he could not feel. Partially. Not really. His stupid brain found anything to distract him. Then if Madame Florian was right... This was going to be almost as difficult as Charms. Without his gloves, what was he going to do? What _could_ he do?

              A tap on his shoulder jolted Eren from his high-speed train of thought. He jerked his head to his right and took in the sight of a levitating backpack. The backpack itself was rather old and scrappy; it looked like magic and a few strings of thread were all that kept it together. Various pins of wands and cauldrons covered the worst cracked patches of chestnut leather and ink splotches of black and blue repainted the bottom. Eren knew this backpack as well as its owner, the rambunctious Sasha Braus. She was standing just to the side of the backpack, left hand anchored to her hip while her right daintily held on to her wand. Her brows were furrowed and a frown shaped her lips. “Oh, it’s just you, Sasha. What do you want?”

              “I reckon that’s my chair you are slouching in,” she answered, rather sharply. “What are you trying to do, Eren?”

              “Ah sorry, sorry,” Eren began tiredly. “Thing is, I don’t feel like moving so just pull a seat up and it can be the three of us at the desk.” Sasha opened her mouth to argue but merely squinted her eyes more at him, fully taking in his rugged appearance, and simply dragged a spare chair over.

              “Sorry about that,” she apologized, a grin and airiness capturing her face. “You see, the kitchens must have had a squabble I think ‘cause when I wished for my usual, they came up short. I missed my home-cooked boar with a side of fire-roasted potatoes and lightly seasoned green beans…” She drifted off, mind following the memory of what could have been. Eren propped his bag under his chin and set his heavy eyes on the professor. Pixis apparently started teaching some time ago.

              “ _Pay attention so I don’t have to reteach this shit to you!”_ Levi’s voice echoed. Well, the arse could shove it; he was fine in Defense Against the Dark Arts so slacking off for a day couldn’t hurt. Eren set his eyes on Pixis’ mustache. It seemed particularly well-groomed today, without a single hair sticking out improperly. That meant he had a liquid lunch either at yesterday’s dinner or at this morning’s meal. Pixis only seemed to groom himself after he had a particularly inebriated time. Eren always admired his teacher’s alcohol tolerance. He himself was a lightweight, a fact he learned after Gunther forced two buzzed butterbeers down his throat in fifth year… Vomit and purple sparks _littered_ the bathroom titles. It seemed like everything Eren touched that night suddenly became animated and screamed bloody murder. At least Armin was there to cram his gloves back on his hands. Eren glanced down at his bare hands. So much for gloves. Nothing was fucking working anymore. Madame Florian seemed worried but calm. That definitely was not mutual; he was fucking terrified. Everyone was going to notice he was not wearing his gloves and then what was he supposed to say? What, he grew out of a habit overnight? Then everyone would put it together that he was, that he had—

              Eren ground his teeth. He practically sprinted to the hospital wing after History of Magic, his wand all the while shooting off sparks and melting the dragon hide gloves off his hand. Madame Florian was beside herself, giving him an ear-bugging about responsibility and improvement. Gee, it almost seemed like she thought he _liked_ being nearly incapable of performing spells he learned all of sixth year  or being so unstable his magic could not even fucking work correctly or never being able to keep his thoughts straight, much like the tangent he could feel himself going on, or having ADHD in general. Well, he didn’t like any of it. It did not make him special; it made him different. He was already different enough to have a reputation. He owned his quidditch player, playboy image but then again, it gave him Reiner and Bertolt. If his illness came out… Reiner would only be worse and then all the names and social ostracizing…  

              “Hey,” Sasha whisper-shouted and rammed her finger into Eren’s side. He yelped and leveled her a glare.

              “What?”

              “Quit pouting and eat one of these,” she muttered, extending a hand filled with little wrapped candies. “Your stomach’s been growling the entire fucking lecture and I can’t hear Pixis.” Eren raised his eyebrow, ready to protest, but as if on cue, his stomach announced itself. He reached a hand over to pick one up but halted. Sasha was offering him candy. That in itself was a red flag.

              “What are they? Last time I fell for this, you gave me a puking pastille,” Eren hesitated. “So, I think I’ll stay hungry, thanks.” A grin tugged at Sasha’s lips as she clasped her hand closed.

              “Caught me,” she snickered and dropped the devious candies in front of him. “Here are your spoils; use them on whoever so long as you give me credit for supplying you.”

              “Do these work in teas?” he blurted out, the question’s purpose not even fully forming before he spat it out.

              “Yeah, they dissolve in liquids,” Sasha replied. “But be warned, dissolving it makes the experience more intense. Make sure you don’t dissolve the purple end or else the victim won’t be able to stop heaving.”

              “Perfect,” Eren murmured, a smile finally gracing his face for the first time in two days. His revenge, now perfectly laid out for him, would be in the shape of three puking pastilles. Levi thought he’d get away with his little curse but he forgot one dangerous detail: Sasha and Connie were among his closest friends, meaning he had access to the school’s most notorious pair of pranksters. Ackerman would be sorely defeated. Eren paused his scheming for a moment and frowned. Calling Levi by his last name made him think of Mikasa. Weird. “Just a theoretical question, but think you’d like to be my supplier in a miniature feud with a Slytherin?”

              Sasha revealed a grin that encapsulated her entire face and ran a finger under her chin. “Hmhmm, now that sounds like a wonderful advertising opportunity. Theoretically, of course,” she winked. “However, Connie and I’s pranking materials have a fee.”

              “I’ll bring you my mother’s pancakes,” Eren smirked.

              “DEAL!” Sasha jumped and exclaimed. Her eyes glinted with mischief and excitement—two dangerous combinations.

              “Ahem,” Professor Pixis announced loudly. Eren snapped his head to meet the Professor’s irked gaze. Of all the professors to ignore, he always felt bad when Pixis caught him. In fourth year, Pixis took an interest in Eren, determined to help him pass his class and learn how to study. Of all the teachers, he was the only one Eren voluntarily admitted his disorder to; he was actually understanding of his situation. More than others, at least. At the very least, to repay him for his efforts three years ago, he should pay attention in class.   “If you two are done conspiring, I’d like to return to teaching without taking points from Gryffindor.”

              “Sorry, professor,” both Eren and Sasha mumbled quietly. Eren refocused to the board. The section heading was Perilous Perils. Headers with alliteration and repetition were also part of Pixis’ drunk or hungover class routine. It was a miracle Headmaster Zacharias had not fired him yet.

~*~*~*~*~*~

              Dinner could not come fast enough. At the sound of the bell, Eren quickly leaped from his bed and changed into some comfortable red sweatpants and a Hogwarts hoodie he swiped from Gunther without him knowing a few months ago. Somehow, the bloke still hadn’t noticed its absence. Little first and second years scrambling out of their dormitories at once and congregating at the foot of the staircase packed the dormitory stairwell.

              “Hey, keep it moving,” Eren shouted into cupped hands, magically amplifying his voice to becoming the loudest in the narrow stairway. He chuckled quietly as they all scrambled to make room for him, a seventh year. As Eren gleefully sauntered past at least thirty other hungry kids, he saw Mikasa, waiting by the Fat Lady’s portrait and sporting a frown.

              “You shouldn’t abuse your seniority—“ she started.

              “Ah, you’re such a party pooper,” Eren sighed and ran a hand over his forehead.

              “Don’t interrupt! I was going to say you shouldn’t abuse your seniority this early. It’s not even Halloween yet. The first and second years will lose respect for the number by January if you keep this up,” Mikasa laughed. “Besides, you could avoid them by just staying in the common room.”

              “Yeah well, where’s the fun in that?” Eren replied as he pushed the back of the painting’s frame and opened the door. “Where’s Armin?”

              “He’s meeting us at dinner,” Mikasa answered. “I think he’s still in the library working on his transfiguration paper.”

              “Oh okay. I should get started on that,” Eren added sheepishly.

              “No shit; it’s due in two days.”

              “No! Nanaba said Friday and it’s only Tuesday,” Eren argued. “I can just do some light research tonight and—“

              “Eren today is Wednesday.” Eren groaned in reply as they walked into the Great Hall. Levi was going to kill him tonight for not getting started. Well, he could try but he’d probably be too busy heaving in a trashcan to get a word out. Eren let out a soft laugh. “What’s that look for?”

              Eren widened his eyes. “What look? This look?”

              “You look like a cross between a barmy and a tosser,” Mikasa laughed and sat down at the nearest end of the Gryffindor table, Eren hot on her heels.

              “I’m just scheming. Levi pissed me off today cause I accidentally set off a spell and ruined his notes and he retaliated!” Eren paused to inhale nearly half of a sandwich. It was perfection! The house elves must have gotten over their squabbles. The lettuce was crisp and cold, a perfect complement to the soft, hot and melty cheese. The soft white sliced bread paired well with the finely—

              “Hey, tune out of your sandwich for a minute,” Mikasa snapped. Eren jolted out of his mindset and stared at his best friend. Sometime in his introspection, Armin apparently sat with them. “Someone wants to see you.” Eren creased his brow and turned around. Sure enough, a certain Slytherin was waiting behind him.

              “Can I join you?”

              “Yeah of course,” Eren exclaimed, scooching over on the bench to allow his new girlfriend some space at the table. Annie revealed a soft smile and sat down next to Eren. She was still dressed in her green Slytherin robes. “Why are you still wearing your robes?” he blurted out.

              “Oh, uh I’ve been doing homework in the library,” she replied. “Levi helped me find some material for my Transfiguration paper. I’m lucky he was there, turns out I didn’t have the right type of parchment Professor Nanaba wanted so he—“

              “UGH! I feel that,” Eren exclaimed, interrupting Annie. She frowned but Eren barely noticed. “Today Levi pissed me off so much!”

              “Uh, Eren?” Armin hesitated, his face akin to fear.

              “No, I didn’t tell you what happened, what this actual prick did to me today,” Eren continued, managing around another mouthful of his truly delicious sandwich.

              “It’s okay, I was there,” Armin rushed. “Really you should stop.”

              “No, I didn’t tell Annie,” Eren protested. “So anyway, Levi pissed me off ‘cause I tried to tell him something during class but he’s dull as dishwater during lectures so he ignored me and then had the actual nerve to—“

              “To do what exactly, Jaeger?” a cold voice asked. Eren gasped and whirled around. Sure enough, the short and broody Slytherin stood behind him, messenger bag grasped in one hand and the other wedged firmly on his waist. “Considering how dense you are to your surroundings, it’s a miracle you’re the best seeker at this school.”

              Eren frowned and began to retaliate but Levi cut him off again. “Yeah, so I came to tell you about tutoring tonight. I can’t make it today, tomorrow, or Friday thanks to Quidditch practices and the game. Deal with that on your own. Finish your paper on time and you’d better have the first two sections of charms practiced and memorized by Saturday or I swear to Merlin, I will personally brew a Draught of Death and replace your morning pumpkin juice with it.” Levi’s expression barely changed as he delivered his threat and turned around, walking out of the Great Hall without so much another word nor waiting for Eren’s reaction.

              “…Shit,” Eren muttered and turned back to the sandwich in front of him. It did not seem as appetizing anymore. Instead, he ran his fingertips across the grain of the wood. “I’m not going to be able to prank him now.”

              “What?” Annie asked eating some type of fluffy, cloud thing. She seemed to enjoy it but what the hell was it? He’d never seen a dish like it. It was so…airy and wispy.

              “Nothing. Hey, what are you eating? I’ve never seen anything like it,” Eren trailed off, eyes fixated on the blue to purple swirls.

              “Oh it’s uh, home food. It’s a sugary and sweet dessert but don’t worry about it. You probably wouldn’t like it much,” Annie mumbled.

              “Speaking of sugary and sweet,” Eren piped. “Do you want to go on the Hogsmeade trip this Saturday?”

              “Oh, yeah. Sure. Why not,” Annie agreed and stood. “I have to go change and get ready for a quidditch practice but I’ll see you around Eren.” Eren grinned and nodded happily, brown locks flopping in every angle. She smiled and trailed her hand through his unkempt hair.

              “See you in a few days!” Eren sighed, smiling like an idiot. Saturday was going to be great. But Friday would be better, after all, seeing Hanji play against Levi would be priceless. As the school’s second-best seeker, she was the only one who was completely unpredictable and a nightmare to compete with. Besides himself, there was no one better to show Levi how Hogwarts played Quidditch. Eren took a swig of his evening pumpkin juice and grinned; Friday could not come sooner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm currently posting a thriller fic called Hollow if you want a little more mystery and some darker themes. It's my NaNo from two years ago but I was inspired by wasterella's encouragement to rewrite and revise it. Go check it out!

**Author's Note:**

> Author-san loves comments: please tell me if it was good, meh, or eh.
> 
> tumblr: chibinico (follow me for lots of fanart done by me; hehe I seriously LOVE this AU)


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